


MacCready, Redefined

by banquos_ghost, TheArtOfBlossoming



Series: Vincent, Redefined [6]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Anal Sex, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mutual Masturbation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Same-Sex Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 46,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25442263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banquos_ghost/pseuds/banquos_ghost, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtOfBlossoming/pseuds/TheArtOfBlossoming
Summary: Paladin-Major Robert Joseph MacCready hasn't been a mercenary for years. His life changed when he met the Sole-Survivor of Vault 111, Vincent 'Nate' Hudson, who saved his son Duncan and made the old lie that he told Lucy, that he was a soldier, a reality.Now a respected member of the Minutemen of Steel, a new division of the post-Institute Eastcoast Brotherhood of Steel under now Sentinel-General Hudson, the two have grown very close.Shortly before Vin reclaimed his own son, the two men became more than companions. It has taken Vincent longer to accept his recently realised true sexuality but is undeniably head-over-heels in love with Mac.Living together with their sons in Sanctuary Hills, Mac seems to have everything he could ever have wished for but still, something nags at his heart...
Relationships: Robert Joseph MacCready/Male Sole Survivor
Series: Vincent, Redefined [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/566194
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. The Question on Everyone's Lips

**Author's Note:**

> Again, banquos_ghost writes for MacCready. Tag-team writing via chat is so much fun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the years after the Institute, as Mac likes to put it, "...became an Outstitute," Vincent Hudson and RJ MacCready became a couple. They shared a house in Sanctuary with their sons Shaun and Duncan and their canine pal Dogmeat.
> 
> It was a post-apocalyptic suburban dream with only one thing missing...and that question was on everyone's lips.

**2289**  
The Mess café at the Castle was busy. The Minutemen had just returned from a patrol and successfully cleared out a Rust Devils encampment. Paladin-Colonel Preston Garvey sat opposite Sentinel-General Vincent 'Nate' Hudson and Paladin-Major Robert Joseph MacCready, all three drinking well-earned beers.

“You had me worried there, Vin,” MacCready said after downing his beer, “I mean I know the power armor helps but these Rust Devils have ways of dealing with it like you wouldn’t believe, like a can opener and a tin of Cram. The way you dealt with that so-called tough guy, it was awesome, you seemed to sense where his vulnerabilities were”

"Yeah, but get this Garvey, then a Protectron rolled up from my left and this Rust Devil pops up in Mac's sights. He double-taps just as I blow the dome clean off rollerbot, which flies up into the air; Mac's first bullet ricochets off the dome and behind us, taking out a Disciple sneaker that was so close she wouldv'e got one or both of us. Then Mac's second shot takes out his intended target anyway. That's how it ended!"

Mac's face was aglow with alcohol-enhanced smugness.

"Whooo, lucky!" exclaimed Preston.

“You say luck, I say I totally intended to do it, and no one can prove otherwise!” MacCready chuckled at the memory.

"Wannanother beer?" slurred Mac, looking between the two of them 

"Jus' one more, thanks Mac," Vin said. MacCready grinned and kissed Vin's cheek. Vincent grumbled against the public display of affection.

Preston smiled, raised a hand against further inebriation and shook his head. 

Whilst MacCready waited at the bar, Preston turned to his friend. "So, homelife going well, Vin?" 

"Yeah, it is, actually. I never thought I'd get to live the suburban dream again, y'know. Shaun and Duncan have really gotten close, the house is coming together and… just having someone I love to share it all with…" Vin trailed off, his gaze finding MacCready who was telling their story again with added gesticulation. He smiled warmly.

"He proposed yet?" Preston pried. 

"I told ya I'm never gettin' married again," Vin growled. 

"Why, Yao Guai, take it easy! I just thought…you two are so happy...it would be.."

"Drop it, Garvey."

Preston's face became serious, despite the drink. Before he could say any more, Mac sauntered up.  
"Lookwhat the b.. _belch_..rkeep had tucked away," he announced, producing two Nuka Darks. Vin practically snatched it away, popped the cap and chugged it.

Preston knew better than to press. He got up and excused himself.

Cait, however, having won the drinking game she started, ambled over and plonked herself down in Garvey's still warm seat. She had only _almost_ got over Vin's rejection two years ago and enjoyed teasing him, whenever she could get away with it. She just blearily looked between the two of them for a moment before asking, "So who wears the apron?"

“Umm, no one?” MacCready was annoyed, both with Cait and the manner of asking. She was obviously intent on making mischief and he was drunk enough to rise to the bait. “But if you must know, the Sentinel-General is a terrific cook and probably responsible for this…” He patted his tiny belly, which was barely visible to the naked eye, but for MacCready was a significant change from his previously concave midriff.

Vin just smirked, his cheeks flushed.

Cait nodded in an exaggerated, knowing fashion. She swigged back the last of what had been Preston's discarded beer and asked, "You still 'just fuck buddies or are you playin' happy families for keeps?"

Vin stood up too fast, knocking over his chair, his fist balled and ready. He glared at Cait. "OUT!" he yelled at her, jabbing a thick finger toward the door. "Barkeep, Cait's cut off, _again_."

He went to sit down and an inebriated MacCready only just righted the chair in time for his boyfriend to land on. Vin was oblivious to the near miss.

Mac looked to him for explanation.

"I don't hit women," Vin declared.

“Well, it was a fair enough question,” Mac mumbled into his beer, barely audible above the noise in the bar. “Are we just fuck buddies?” He wasn’t really expecting an answer, as he was pretty sure that Vin wouldn’t have heard anyway.

Unfortunately, Mac had been sitting on Vin's left. That was his good ear. Vincent just glared at him in disbelief, slammed his empty glass on the table and stormed off to their quarters, without a word. 

MacCready shrugged, if Vin had gotten his panties in a twist then it was his own fault for eavesdropping on Mac’s private conversation with his beer. He sat back in his chair, looking around the bar, and was shocked to see most eyes in the bar looking back at him. “What?” he belligerently demanded of no one in particular before rising unsteadily from his chair.

Once he was outside the bar and breathing fresher, colder air sobriety started winning out over his inebriation. He remembered the fury on Vin’s face and felt prickles of remorse. He let himself into the General's Quarters as quietly as he could, and only managed to bash his knee a couple of times on the furniture. He peered into the bedroom, which was in darkness. “Pssst, Vin, are you awake?” he whispered, “I’m sorry about what happened in the bar…”

Vin huffed, letting Mac know that he was both awake and still mad at him.

Mac huffed back, letting Vin know that he’d done his bit, he’d opened the dialog with a damn apology. What did the man want? Bah, he always seemed to be the first to cave in, and it appeared this time was going to be no different. “You weren’t meant to hear that, back in the bar, it was a whatcha call it? Rhetorical question? I was mad at Cait, that’s all.” MacCready ventured further into the sleeping quarters, trying to make out whether Vin was under the covers yet.

The sheets moved, the bed groaned under the big guy's weight and Vin sat up. "I could take that from Cait. Hell, I expect that kinda language comin' from her.…but you, Mac…you fucking embarrassed me back there. That and…well, you really hurt my feelings. You know that's _not_ how I feel about us." Vincent sat, slumped and still. Mac could hear his deep, shuddering breaths.

“ _I_ embarrassed _you_?! How do you think I feel when people say things like that? It was bad enough when it was Preston, with his questions about our relationship status, but Cait? And how _do_ I know how you feel about us? Guesswork?” Mac sat down on the bed and started removing his boots. “Look, I’m tired and it’s late. Let’s just forget about it shall we?”

Vincent switched on his PIP-boy light so they could at least see each other.

"H…how do you know how I _feel_ about you, Mac? I told you! No, let's not **just forget** about this." Vin clenched his jaw, his eyes glistening. "My aunt Libby used to say 'Don't let the sun set on an argument'. I don't know what you want me to say, Mac," Vincent said quietly. "Wait, you heard what Preston asked me? From over at the bar? Damn, eagle eyes an' the hearin' of a bat…forget what Garvey said. _Definitely_ forget what Cait said." 

“Yeah, I heard, sorry, I’m just being a drunken asshole. I love you too Vin, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks, I shouldn’t let it get to me, we don’t have to live up to their expectations anyway.” 

MacCready sighed and climbed into bed beside Vin, giving him a gentle kiss before rolling onto his back. Within moments he was sound asleep.

Vincent tentatively reached out to squeeze MacCready's hand. "I love you Mac an' you lovin' me right back? That's all I need."

* * *

 **2290**  
Vin unscrewed the last screw on the service plate of the Mr. Handy lying inverted on the workbench. The jet's pilot light was still on but the main power had been cut.

Codsworth had developed a hovering limp after a stingwing had stuck its needle up the poor bot's thruster. 

"Well, this position is rather unflattering, sir. Do be hasty in your repairs, won't you?"

"Don't flip your wig, Codsworth. By the time I'm finished, your dignity will be as intact as your thruster gyro."

"My thanks. You will let me know, Mr. Vincent sir, when I can add Mr. MacCready to my spouse protocol? Your status contradicts your actions and my service program is glitching."

"Is that why you're stuck at the old house?"

"Quite possibly, sir."

"So you're saying that, in order to get **my** Mr. Handy to hang around my _own house_ , I have to be _**married**_?"

"Well, technically, Mr. Vincent, the house does belong to Mr. MacC…"

 _clunk_ The screwdriver hit the bench and Vin marched out of the workshop, slamming the door behind him.

"Sir? Sir!…sir…?"

MacCready was wondering why the repair was taking so long. He hoped there was nothing seriously amiss with the old metallic nag. Codsworth could be annoying at times, but he was part of the furniture in Sanctuary and the place just wouldn’t be the same without the gentle sound of his thrusters amongst the mutfruit bushes or the sound of his jolly British voice greeting newcomers. Mac shouted across, “Vin, you finished servicing that hunk o’junk yet?”

Vincent went straight to the cooler for a beer. "Don't expect to have a Mr. Handy in _this_ house," he said in an irritated tone of voice.

“Oh really?” said Mac, archly, “I thought I already did, and he needs lots of regular servicing too.” He chuckled at his own innuendo.

"Very funny," said Vin, flatly. "Seriously though, the old chap has some protocol programming I can't get around, locking him to my old address. He'll follow me if I give specific commands but that kicks over to his defense subroutines. Guess we're doin' all the housework, Mac."

* * *  
Later that same year, Vin and Mac finished a short tour of duty and stopped at Diamond City for a few days of much needed rest before heading back to Sanctuary. Duncan was staying with the Longs, enjoying the company of his little auntie Bobbie who was more like a sister to him.

They had stopped by Homeplate long enough to change into civvies and realise that the food cupboards were bare, save for Instamash and Cram.

"I'll go by Polly's, pick up some fresh cuts, "Vin said. "You wanna go by the greenhouse and pick a box o' veg? Faster we get ingredients, the sooner we eat."

“OK, I suppose I can do that. Are you sure that you trust me to pick the good ones though?” Mac remembered some of the times that Vin had berated him over his choice of fresh produce. It all looked the same to him, only if it was mouldy with flies buzzing around did alarm bells ring for MacCready. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just grab a meal at the Dugout?”

"I need to cook. It de-stresses me, you know that. Just make sure the skins don't split under your fingers. Can't go too wrong in the Green Jewel Greenhouse anyhow."

Mac turned down the alley, looking at his feet as a baseball rolled by. 

"Hey, watch it, Greenhat," said a familiar voice as Mac collided into a mac, worn by a certain synth detective.

“Oh, hey, sorry Valentine. How’s it going?” Mac was unusually humble in his greeting to Nick Valentine. “I’m on my way to the Greenhouse, wanna walk and talk?” Mac asked, acutely aware that Vin wouldn’t be happy if he was overly delayed in his mission.

"I'm going in there myself. Ellie has a hankering for green-fried tatoes." Nick held the door open for MacCready to enter the small, humid shed and closed it behind them. They picked vegetables in the awkward silence for a moment, until suddenly Nick put a hand on Mac's arm.

"Hey, uh…. I had you figured all wrong, MacCready. I've been meaning to get this off my chest for a while but…ah…you boys were always so busy an'…well…you're a good man, Robert. It isn't often someone can hide their real selves well enough for me not to see it. I get why you did. We all got precious things in the past to hide. I was just concerned for my partner, you understand." Valentine coughed, whether for effect or necessity MacCready couldn't tell.

Whatever the reason, MacCready suddenly felt the urge to cough too, and did, turning away to avoid coughing over the vegetables. The cough had served to disperse some of his embarrassment, but he was still lost for words. He picked up a vegetable from a nearby branch and held it up to Valentine. “What do you think that is, Nick?” He blushed as red as the produce he was holding and mumbled, “And eurgh, thanks for what you just said. Anyway, do you think Vin could use this?” Once again Mac raised the vegetable to Nick’s face.

"That's almost what a tomato used to be. Better put that in the compost, ironically that one is too mutated to risk it. Hawthorne ate one last month, wasn't pretty. Well, my new case is "Who's dumping irradiated crap in the greenhouse again? Heh." Nick seemed as nervous as Mac but handed him a perfectly ripe tato.

"So…uh…you two share a room? Is that under contract, yet?" Valentine ventured.

MacCready looked at Valentine in puzzlement. “Under contract? What do you mean by that?”

"As in marriage contract or civil partnership, whatever you boys do." If Valentine could blush, he'd be as red as the Exit sign by now.

“I don’t know what to do Nick. Vin won’t entertain the idea, and well, I can’t help but take it personal. I’d marry him in an instant. Vin just keeps saying that we are happy as we are now, that it’s just a bit of paper… Oh, I don’t know, it all sounds so logical but I just feel it here..” Mac pointed to his chest and looked enquiringly at Nick. “Does that sound dumb?”

"No, kid, not dumb at all. Look at it this way, his experience of marriage ended in tragedy…not just that an', now don't take this the wrong way Mac, but he was surprised to fall in love with another fella. Now, now he didn't say anything to me directly. I kinda picked up on that myself, as much as from what he wasn't sayin' as anything else. Just give him time. You mean the world to our pal."

MacCready looked down at his basket of veg, and mumbled, “Well, my experience of marriage didn’t exactly have a happy ending, either,” then slightly louder, “Thanks Nick, I guess I’ll just have to practice something I’m not awfully good at – patience.”

Whilst Mac and Nick were conversing, Vincent bumped into Piper at Polly's meat stall...

“Well, well if it isn’t my old friend, Blue. And out without Green too. What you doing in Diamond City all alone, Blue? No trouble in paradise I hope?” Piper leaned in, hoping for some juicy gossip from the Sentinel-General.

Vin let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't mind you callin' me Blue anymore, Piper but please stop callin' Mac that. An' why in the name of all that glows is _everyone_ jibber-jabbering about our **private, personal business!**

Vin spotted Proctor Ingram striding purposefully towards them. "Oh thank fuck," Vin cussed, under his breath.

“OK, OK, sorry. Maybe you can pop by and see me tomorrow if you got time?” Piper didn’t wait for Vin’s answer, she turned and headed back to the Publick Occurences office.

Outside the greenhouse, Mac asked Nick to pass Ellie both his and Vin's regards. He juggled the box and again, almost got distracted by the baseball, rolling toward him. A small boy he didn't recognise grinned sheepishly at him. He smiled back, a genuine, unguarded smile, picked up the ball and threw it back. The boy caught it and gave him a grubby thumbs-up.

As he rearranged his hold on the vegetable box and advanced a few more steps, he heard Vin's voice and stopped short, hidden from view.

"Hey Tess, you are lookin'…you're takin' that off? Here? Oh lady, that is a very fine sight. Hey, uh.. Mac isn't home yet, so after you."

"Well thankyou, handsome," replied Ingram.

Mac heard a distinct kissing sound.

He felt his heart fall to the depths of his stomach. He was in a quandary; unsure whether to storm off or to confront. He chose the latter, better to face the enemy head on in this instance, he could always fall back to the storming off position later. Vin had told him that he and Tess were over! And yet here they were dallying right in front of his nose. He had every right to feel aggrieved.

He barged through the door, not quite sure what he was going to see but feeling pretty sure that he wouldn’t like it. “Vin? What’s going on in there?” he bellowed as he stepped over the threshold.

"Hey…woah, what's up Mac?" Vin said, his pleased face melting into a puzzled expression. Proctor Gertrude 'Tess' Ingram stood there before him, not looming over him but, strangely shorter. It took Mac a while to realise that she wasn't wearing the power armour that normally substituted for her missing legs, but a pair of mechanics coveralls with what looked like a bulky utility belt around the midriff.

"Hey, MacCready," greeted Tess. "Look what your beloved helped me make!" She posed, showing off her new legs, lifting the fabric to reveal upcycled Gen 2 legs underneath.

"What the hell did you _think_ was goin' on, Mac?" Vin asked.

“Umm, I thought we were being robbed, I heard strange voices…” Mac trailed off, as lame excuses went, this was the daddy of them all..It was the best he could do at such short notice. He aggressively placed the box of vegetables on the table making Vin wince, then sat down on the sofa, feeling slightly nauseous. His brain was still racing, and he was feeling a strong, possibly unjustified aversion to seeing Vin so close to Tess.

"That's a loada bullshit, Mac. Maybe I _should_ let Piper call you the Green to my Blue on account o' how f..how jealous you are!"

Ingram put a hand on Vin's arm. "Hey, no friendly fire here, boys! R.J., if you heard me kiss him it was just a peck on the cheek. Come on, you can't deny me that. The last thing I'd want is to get between you two. You're like a…clevis and a link." 

Vincent laughed, having understood the engineering reference.

MacCready felt fury take the place of nausea, he was being excluded from their cosy little chat. Well, fuck that, and how dare Vin call him out in front of Tess! “I don’t care what the fuck Piper calls me,” he was vocally running out of steam, but his rage compelled him to action, so he stood up abruptly from the sofa, and headed out the door slamming it as he went. Once he was in the market, he calmed slightly, until he imagined Tess and Vin laughing at him, nice and cosy in Homeplate. This gave him the momentum required to keep him heading through the market, ignoring Percy and heading towards The Dugout.

"Fuck. Excuse me, Tess," Vin apologised. He ran out after Mac and caught up with him just outside the bar.

"Hey! Slow down! There's nothin' going on, Mac, just mutual engineering admiration. Hey, stop, will ya?" he said as Mac twisted away from his reach.

“You made me look like a complete dick in there, in front of Tess…” Mac was still fuming, “How would you like it if I berated you in front of Preston? No need to answer – I know you’d hate it, so why is it OK to call me out in front of Tess?” Mac folded his arms defensively and stood defiantly waiting for Vin’s response, which he expected to be an angry one.

Vincent, coloured and collapsed onto the nearby park bench. "I…didn't think. That thing she said that I laughed at, about a clevis and a link, it's two bits that fit and move together, like us," Vin explained, illustrating it with his hands, suggestively. "I wasn't laughing at you, lover," he explained, "and I'm hungry, I flew off the handle…it's no excuse." Vin looked utterly crestfallen, having realised what he'd done. "I'm sorry," he added in a small voice.

MacCready was both mollified and relieved, “Well, I accept your apology, and I’m sorry too, sorry that I got the wrong end of the stick. Shall we go back and have this belated dinner? I hope the veg isn’t too ruined…” MacCready couldn’t help but give a little chuckle at the thought of his rough handling of the vegetable crate. Thinking back to the scene at Homeplate gave rise to another question, “She’s not still there is she? I mean, I just don’t think I could face her right now.”

"Well…if her power armor is still in the stand outside, I'm gonna have to be polite and ask her to stay for dinner. Or I make up some excuse to get her outta there? Can't think of anything, though…"

“Umm, how about telling her we are celebrating a special anniversary or something like that?” Mac’s brow creased in thought, “Or maybe we could just grab a meal here?” He laughed, he didn’t really mean it, knowing that Vin wanted to cook but he couldn’t help himself, he started laughing, realising that poor Tess would be left just waiting at the Homeplate wondering what the hell was going on. “Maybe not, I suppose I better apologise if she’s still there.” This was medicine that he really didn’t want to take, but he could see no way out of it if the Proctor was still at Homeplate.

When they returned, her set of T-60 was still there. Vin went in first. "Hey…um, Tess? We're sorry about all that. You, er, wanna stay for dinner?"

"Oh thanks but I have a supply run to do. I'll leave you to it. Thanks again for your help, Hudson. These are…well. I never thought I'd see life from this perspective again." Tess smiled at Vin and held her hand out to MacCready.

He willingly shook it, “I’m sorry about earlier, Proctor. I hope we can forget about it and be friends again?” MacCready looked at Tess, and smiled, feeling genuine remorse about his ridiculous behaviour earlier that evening.

"Of course! Listen, you really have nothing to worry about, R.J. My first love has always been the Prydwen," she winked.

* * *  
**2291**  
Vin and Mac dumped their combined scavenging rucksacks out onto Daisy's counter. 

"Well, boys, now I don't know who to pay for what," Daisy rasped.

"Just pay Mac. He keeps better track than I do, anyway," Vin replied.

"This for Minutemen provisions or _personal?_ " she asked, leaning forward on that last word.

“Wellll Daisy, it’s _personal_.” Mac was in a mood for devilment. “It’s for my household; me and the boys.” He awaited Daisy’s response, knowing that she’d rise to the bait.

"Well, then, you charmers, I'll give you couples rates."

"That isn't even a thing," Vin pointed out.

"Now who is runnin' this here store, handsome?" Daisy asked in mock-offense. "If I feel like helping out my two best boys by cutting a little discount, then I will. Bet you're saving up for your weddin' now, ain'tcha?"

Vin clenched his jaw. He wasn't even going to dignify that. Mac, on the other hand, wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by.

“Well in that case Daisy you’d lose your bet,” Mac attempted a jocular manner and failed, coming over as slightly bitter instead. “You won’t need to get yourself a new outfit quite yet, I’m afraid. Not on our account, anyway.”

Vin didn't quite hide his scowl from Mac.

"Shame," muttered Daisy, hairless eyebrows raised. She threw in a mutfruit with Mac's pile of caps. "On the house, boys," she whispered, smirking.

“Thanks, Dais” Mac gave her an exaggerated wink, as took a bite on the ripe fruit. “Wanna bite, Vin?” He proffered the mutfruit to his lover, whose face resembled one that had been sucking on a far more bitter fruit.

"Oh now, RJ," said Daisy with disappointment, "you spoiled my gift! _That_ one wasn't for _eating!_

Vin got Daisy's meaning and suddenly chuckled, grinning and blushing less than he would have done a few years ago.

“Yeah, I know, but well, looking at Vin’s face I thought it would go rotten before, well, ya know… and it seemed a shame to waste it.” Mac was starting to feel a little bit guilty about baiting Vin, so he made an attempt to be conciliatory, “Anyway, it’s delicious. Are you sure you don’t want any Vin?”

Vincent looked shocked. "Hey!" he yelled at Mac. "Excuse me, Daisy, I've got to take this _bitter fruit_ to a private room to deal with…in _private_ he added, turning a roguish smirk on MacCready.

* * *  
They walked past a ghoul mutt wearing a blue bandana and armour, lapping noisily from a dogbowl just outside Hotel Rexford. Vin opened the door for Mac and the two went in to book a room for the night. A ghoul woman was already at the desk, talking to Claire. She brushed a sandy lock of hair behind her ear in a familiar way, received her key, turned and smiled at the two men waiting behind her. 

Claire spotted them. "Hudson, MacCready. Sharing again, gentlemen?" The hotelier was familiar enough with the pair to drop their military titles. She reached for the key to their usual room. As Vin plunged his hand into a pocket for caps, the ghoul woman, who had not yet reached the stairs, croaked softly, "Hudson? There's a name I've not heard in a while. Hmmm.. MacCready too… " she turned and looked at Mac then her gaze shot to Vin. Her eyes misted up, her jaw went slack. "Vinnie?" she asked, weakly.

Vincent released the caps to the counter. He turned to look the ghoulified woman in the eyes. "Do I know you, Ma'am?" he asked. 

"Vincent Hudson?" she asked in return, slowly stepping closer, one hand raising as if to touch his face.

Vin was aware of Mac shifting his stance, ready to act but recognition dawned and he stepped forward, taking the ghoul's roughened hand onto his cheek. His own eyes watered. "Aunt Libby." 

There was no question. Despite the ravages of radiation, the eyes that looked into his were those of family. Mac heard the name and instantly relaxed. 

“Wow, is it really you Aunt Libby? Long time no see, how are you? What brings you to Goodneighbor?” Mac was delighted to see Aunty Libby, he remembered her from Little Lamplight, but why would she be in a hellhole like Goodneighbor?

The old lady chuckled. "Well, if it isn't little Mayor MacCready!"

A cough from nearby caught their attention. "You want to move your family reunion over to the couches, folks?" Claire suggested, pointing out more customers needing access to the reception desk.

The three went and sat down on the faded red sofas. Vin was speechless, just holding the old woman's hand.

"You don't look a day older than when I last visited, dear," Libby said to Vincent. "How the fuck is that possible?" she said, as if 'fuck' was a nicety rather than a swearword

Mac saw that his love was overcome with surprise at that cuss, plus a flood of emotional memories. He could read Vin's green eyes well and knew when the doors to memory had opened within, so he stepped in to explain:

“Vin was in a vault, Aunt Libby, cryogenically frozen for around 200 years, not sure how that works, but here he is, over 200 years old and still handsome as ever…” He turned to Vin, who was still gazing into the middle distance, with a wistful expression, “Aunt Libby used to help us kids in Little Lamplight out sometimes, you know, with medicine and doctoring stuff. I mean, we were pretty self-sufficient,” he stopped briefly, to reflect with pride on his old community, “But I don’t mind telling you Aunt Libby saved our bacon a few times.”

Her face showed surprise but she waited for her nephew to explain further.

Vincent finally recovered his voice. "Mac, this is _Vonny's_ mom…closest I ever got to having a good mother of my own.

This made Libby's face crumple into a simultaneous smile and frown. 

“Wow, what are the chances! Aunt Libby, you knew both of us in our old lives..” Mac marvelled on the strangeness of the universe. “And now, here we all are, in Goodneighbor of all places!”

"Well, young RJ, life does throw some strange things at you these days but truthfully, the shock grows dull. Honestly, meeting in Goodneighbour is really no surprise at all. Don't most interesting people pass through here at some point? But my, didn't you grow up handsome?" She patted his hand and turned back to Vincent.

"I should've left Ryan for your father, Vincent. He was so good to my Vaughn. I always regretted that. You two could have been brothers."

This last made Vin's breath catch in his throat and he struggled to contain himself in what was, after all, a public space. They could hear Rufus bartering with hotel guests on the other side of the foyer and Buddy clunking around.

Mac felt their conversation would be better had in a more discrete place,“Say, why don’t we head to the Third Rail, where we can speak in private? I’m sure the VIP room will be available for us. We could meet you there, Aunt Libby, once we’ve put our stuff in our room.”

"I'll meet you there," Libby promised. "I ought to secure _my_ belongings, too." Vincent offered to carry her bags but she declined, easily swinging two bulging rucksacks and a sniper rifle onto her narrow shoulders.

MacCready and Vincent headed to The Third Rail. Ham touched his hat as they passed. "Mayor's downstairs, visitin'. He'll be glad ta see ya."

"Thanks, Ham. Hey, we just sold Daisy a jacket that looks your size," commented Vin, noticing a new stitched up tear in the ghoul's sleeve. 

Ham noticed him looking and held up his arm, "The perils of bein' a bouncer. I tell ya, I got through two jackets this year already. A new one'd be pissah."

"Tell her to give you 'couples rates', she'll know I sent you," Vin smirked.

Mac heard a whine from behind Ham, in the alcove by the bins. A ghoul mutt with a blue bandana stood up to sniff Mac's legs and wag her hairless tail.

"Hey, Nix! How're you, you ugly old girl?" Mac said, recognising Olivia's ghoul mutt. "Is Olivia inside?" he asked Ham.

"Nah. She parked her mutt here an' went off to do business. It ain't any o' mine," said Ham. "Said she'd be back to drink real soon. Mutt's okay. Kinda cute, anyways. Maybe I should get a dog."

“Could help with the bouncing, Ham.” Mac smiled, “Not that you can’t handle it yourself of course… “ He trailed off, as Nix nuzzled his hand. “Or maybe they would be no help whatsoever.”

Ham huffed. "Ya. This gal's too soft."

In the bar, Hancock was playing cards with a grizzled, dark-haired guy and a black-haired, porcelain-skinned knockout. He spotted the couple enter and gestured for them to give him a moment. Mac saw him expertly sneak a Mentat and win the game; Vin was already at the bar trying to pry the best whiskey - but not bourbon - from Whitechapel Charlie.

Mac lit up a cigarette and started to saunter toward the VIP room. Hancock leapt up behind him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. He was obviously already pretty high, otherwise he would never have suggested what he said next.

“Well, if it isn’t my favourite boys. Fancy going somewhere more _private_ for some real fun?” Hancock grinned rakishly.  
MacCready rolled his eyes, “No thanks, Mayor, I’m a one man guy these days…”

The Sentinel-General turned an interrogative glare toward MacCready. " 'These days', Mac? You mean you've…? You and…? You know what, I don't wanna know."

Libby appeared, descending the stairs with her usual graceful dignity, Vincent noticed. Except now, there was an air of caution about her movements, a preparedness that he saw in those who had survived two centuries of living in this raw, challenging, irradiated world. Ghouls were the living embodiment of the Wasteland.

Vin elbowed his partner for attention. "Hey Mac, give me some space to catch up with Aunt Libby for a mo? And you, Hancock buddy, behave yourself with my hu..hero, here, got that?"

Vincent walked away to the private room, trying to barricade his imagination from showing him things he did not wish to visualise and shocked at himself for almost calling MacCready his husband. He mentally huffed and blamed all the busybodies and jibber-jabbers for that near slip-up, then pushed the thought away.

Olivia Zander sat in the parlour, bolt upright, hands resting on her lap and legs crossed at the ankles with a bright smile on her radburn-wrinkled face. Vincent's memory of her homely, pre-war visage tried to overlay itself on the well-travelled figure before him. He could almost see her as she was, until she spoke.

"Well shit, Vincent, just look at you!"

It wasn't that her voice was gravelly now, it still held those warm, motherly tones. It was the cussing. The old Aunt Libby used to chastise her husband, son, brother-in-law and nephew for the slightest indelicate word. She had a saying that Vin now used on her.

"Your breath'll stink of manure if you use language like that, Libby," he smiled.

Olivia laughed. "Oh, it stopped being sweet when I got deep fried, dear. Come here, Vinnie," she padded the fancy couch next to her and held his hand, searching his eyes, her own suddenly melancholy. "Nora? Little Shaun?" she enquired. 

Vincent downed his drink, took a deep breath and told his whole story, in brief, racing through the details so as not to get caught on any one tragic tripwire. 

"So here I am," he said, "still calling Sanctuary Hills home, living with my partner and his son and trying to be a good dad to a fourteen year old kid who can't grow up and is acting out about it royally by running away every few days," Vin breathed deeply, "so I had to send him away from most everyone he knows to live with the man I call brother." Vin stared into his empty glass. "I've failed as a parent, Libby. The kid is…he's a synth, as I mentioned. I think Shaun - the original Shaun - was genuinely trying to make it right but it's..uhh… torturous. Seeing Duncan grow, day by day and Shaun never changing? He's a teenager and despite his manufactured physiology, he has all the mental patterns of a hormonal teen. I haven't figured out how I can help him through that but he's with the one guy I trust who can relate the most." 

Libby just nodded her compassionate understanding, sensing that she'd opened rusty floodgates.

"On top of all that, there's me and MacCready. After Nora…I was never looking for another relationship, certainly never realised I could feel like this about another man,"

Libby patted his knee and smiled. "You and Vaughn were always so alike. He mentioned to me once that he knew..how did he put it..that your heart was bigger than you realised. I remember seeing you look at those guys in your gymnastics club. Especially JJ."

"That clutz? Really? Well, _I_ was oblivious all this time. It took falling in love with Mac…and having that love returned to make me realise those feelings were okay. Now…he's my world, Libby, him _and_ Duncan," Vincent sighed, "but everyone's nagging me to get married and if I marry again I might…"

"Shh, honey. It never worked out for me or your Dad but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that you are with someone you love, who loves you back and treats you right. You saved his son, for fuck's sake!" Vin pulled his shocked expression. "Aww, I should have started cussing centuries ago, dear. What _that man_ did to our son..That's not my point. Enjoy what you got while you got it. Scraps of paper and circles of gold don't change what really matters…they don't protect either, sweetheart. Now, where is that foul-mouthed cutie-pie?"

That description of MacCready made Vincent laugh, all the moreso for the reversal of roles on the swearing front. Vin leaned out of the doorway, waving Mac in.

“Sorry Hancock, duty calls, I’ll see ya around.” Mac gave Hancock a brief hug and hurried over to the VIP room.

“Yeh, see you guys later maybe if you change your mind!” Hancock’s raspy voice rang out hopefully as Mac disappeared into the VIP room.

Vin's voice was soft, it was the tone he used with nervous potential settlers, Mac noticed. "Aunt Libby, there's an empty house in Sanctuary, if you want it? I need to finish the roof but…"

"I couldn't Vinnie. I mean, I really _couldn't_. If I don't keep moving, the memories catch up with me and before I know it I'm drinking more than _that man_ ever locked away in the bureau. Beside, I never know who needs my help along the road. I'm not a proper doctor like Vaughn…but in two hundred odd years you tend to pick up a few skills. Sniping, for example, eh, little bossman?" Libby's attention was on MacCready.

“Ha, haven’t heard that fuc… umm that dang nickname in years, it’s Big Bossman these days, please! How’s the sniping going, still got the skills that pay the bills? You’re still alive so I’m assuming that’s a yes” Mac turned to Vin, “I taught her the basics, you know, back in the day.”

Libby grinned. "It took fatherhood to wash that little mouth out with soap, now, did it? Yes, Vincent told me..It's alright, Big Bossman. I think you're safe to let your worst out in here...and yes, you were right about finding the piece that fits. That old rifle broke on me soon after I last saw you. The new one is my favourite accessory. It's in the locker, of course. I've been trying to name it. Fifty cal, long scope, very steady stock…any suggestions, Mayor? Oh now you wouldn't be mayor anymore. What is it these days, darling?"

“It’s Paladin-Major, but you can just call me Mac… As for the rifle, let me think,” MacCready’s face rumpled in deep thought, “Umm, I’m rubbish at this, how about “Travel Insurance”?!”

"Perfect. Well, what a handsome pair you make, boys. I promise to swing by Sanctuary Hills at some point."

"Well, Aunt Libby, if you ever need a place to rest up at, go tell Wiseman at The Slog I sent you."

"I will, dear."

* * *  
**2292** (the year Mac lost his foot)

The five special recruits were lined up along the Castle wall, sniper rifles trained at targets set at almost maximum range along the tops of the old shack and boat. The path toward the mainland was barricaded and guarded whenever the Paladin-Major returned, which was less often these days since his accident.

He limped along the line of promising snipers, adjusting postures, checking weapons, giving praise where it was due until the courtyard bell rang for change of duties.

The snipers emptied their mags and started their routine weapon maintenance. They didn't need the Paladin-Major for that, so he joined Cait for beer and a cigarette.

Cait saluted her superior officer, with more professionalism than he had seen of her before. Mac had to hand it to Cait, she was shaping up to be a very good Sergeant. "At ease, thumper. Gwinnet?"

She visibly slouched back into her natural posture. "Oh thank Grognak. Cheers, Mac."

They sat in companionable silence on the wall, staring out over the bay. When Cait was sure nobody could hear, she blurted,

"You two have been goin' at it like two rutting radstags fer how long now? And you still haven't managed to pop the question ? What's it gonna take then?"

“If I knew, I’d do it Cait, Vin just can’t or won’t take that step, there’s no point me asking him again, it would be another rejection, and I’m not sure I can take that. I’ll just have to be happy with what we got, which is more than most. Although..” MacCready fiddled with the fastening on his prosthetic foot, “ I _did_ think when he presented me with this he was going to ask, you know, get down on one knee, the whole shooting match. But turns out, the only person on one knee was me, before I got this,” he pointed to his left foot. “The companion for the “sole survivor”,” he waggled his right foot to emphasise his attempt to joke. Cait looked at him blankly. “Oh, never mind Cait, I’ve wasted enough of my good material on you.”

* * *  
**2293**  
_This was quite a year. On November first, Shaun successfully transferred to an adult body._

_On November the eleventh, at a private ceremony at the Red Rocket garage near Sanctuary, the man once known as Saul Danse was married to Leonard Rhys. Tess Ingram attended, bearing a bottle of whiskey and two cigars, an anonymous gift that did not get lost on either former Brotherhood soldier. The ceremony may have been small, with only the Sentinel-General's nearest and dearest being admitted but Shaun would fondly remember, for many years after, the literal flaming heart decoration and the grooms in complementary twin flame painted power armour suits._

_Shaun began his Squireship the very next day._

* * *

**December 21st**

An Initiate ran up and saluted, waiting for the Sentinel-General to exit his power armour. 

"Sir, Elder Maxson wishes to see you in his quarters, sir."

"Thankyou Initiate…Durham, wasn't it?" 

The young soldier grinned at being recognised by the Sentinel, nodded and snapped a quick salute, then ran off to other duties.

Vincent replaced his military cap, making sure he was presentable and strode to Arthur Maxson's private chamber. He knocked on the door with a personal rhythm.

Maxson opened the door. "Good to see you, Vincent. Come in."

The use of his first name gave Vin to know that this was an informal meeting and that he had permission to address the Elder - an ironic term, since Arthur was two years MacCready's junior - by his given name.

The door closed, Vin grasped Arthur's arm in one hand and clapped him on the shoulder with the other. "Whiskey an' cigars club? Well this has been a long time coming. You work too hard, my friend."

"What else is there, Vincent?"

"Oh, now there's a sad thing to hear."

Maxson poured two shots of whiskey and collapsed, a little stiffly, into a chair.

"You should get some shore leave. Go on a date. Have you…found anyone you like?" Vin sipped the fine spirit.

"There are a couple of suitable candidates for procreative purposes."

"That isn't what I asked, Arthur. Anyway, you know my stance on this topic. A child ought to be born out of love."

"That is not how the Brotherhood views it. 'Procreation is the Civic Duty of every member,'"

"So I understand…but how set in steel is that for this new Brotherhood of ours, Arthur? For the Minutemen of Steel, even?"

"It isn't Codex but _is_ a prevalent understanding," Maxson replied.

"Do you even _want_ children, my friend?" Vin asked, holding his lighter to Maxson's cigar.

"That is _**not**_ what I called you here to discuss, Vincent."

"I thought this was an informal meeting, Arthur."

"It is…I…have not yet clarified my thoughts on continuing the line."

Vin chuckled. "You need to get out more. At least, find a girl you like, go incognito to Bobrov's or that Slocum's Joe at Starlight and just..hang out, y'know?"

Arthur's face was blank. Vin sighed. The man was more like a fresh-baked synth than Vincent dared to say.

"You should get married," Arthur blurted.

This took Vin entirely by surprise. "I should what?"

"Get married."

"But I'm with…"

"The Paladin-Major, yes, I am aware. That is to whom I was referring."

Vin took a moment to let that and another gulp of whiskey, sink in. "I thought you meant, find a woman and have babies."

"Normally, that would have been my meaning but it has been brought to my attention that you two are…intimate. You are also one of the best teams I have. Quite frankly, some of the comments from the rank and file have been downright disrespectful. Proctor Ingram has been collating a file. Reprimand numbers have gone up. It would help morale and discipline if you both would…make it official."

Vin was taken aback. "But…the procreation thing..?" 

"Technically, you have both already fulfilled those guidelines. Though I wish that MacCready would allow us to take Duncan on as a Squire."

"Ain't gonna happen. Not unless Duncan changes his mind."

"Understood. As for your…son. Well. Special consideration."

"Because he's Genthree an' you want to keep an eye on him." 

"It started out as that, yes. Initiate Proctor Hudson is proving to be a very able member of the crew…like his father."

( _'Father'. That was the name that 'Nate' and Nora's original son had used as head of the Institute._ ) 

Vincent's expression darkened. "We don't use that word."

"I'm sorry, Vincent.…My meaning was that…you should be proud."

"We are, Mac and I, proud o' both our sons."

"You see, my friend, you talk about yourselves as if married, what is keeping you from making it official? I don't understand."

Vin sighed. "You are experienced in many things, my young friend but personal, intimate relationships is _not_ one of them; yet, at least." 

The last of the whiskey slid warmly down Vin's throat. "After Nora… I couldn't stand to lose a spouse again."

"But the man is practically your husband in every sense of the word. You wouldn't feel any less traumatised if you lost him now, nor he, you," Maxson pointed out.

Vin silently looked his friend and young Elder right in those steel-grey eyes. 

"Also," Arthur continued," I think MacCready may be getting tired of waiting. That man has many subtle depths of snarkiness…"

That comment loosened Vin's stunned expression into a guffaw.

"Though," added Maxson, "I've rarely seen such depths of loyalty in another, either."

Vincent Hudson's face suddenly lit up with the glow of inner creative inspiration. "I have go do something, Arthur. Permission to take a week of shoreleave?" 

"Unnecessary to ask, Sentinel, but I appreciate your manners, Vincent. Of course. Just…"

Vin turned, having already reached the door, "Yessir?"

"Send me an invite?"

The Sentinel-General grinned and saluted then rushed off to find a workbench with a lathe.


	2. The Words He Was Waiting To Hear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent has something to say to MacCready that will change their relationship forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Co-written by banquos_ghost, thanks for bringing MacCready to life!
> 
> Contains NSFW fluffy-smut!

Paladin-Colonel Garvey patted MacCready on the back with a gloved hand. "Thanks, Major. Those new guns are top notch. You're a good teacher, my friend." The newly graduated sniper division, The Lightning Strikes, disappeared from view into The Mess. 

“Oh, thanks, but they’re a good bunch, one of the best we’ve had. If only they were all like that! We’ve had some in the past that couldn’t hit the water if they fell out of a boat.”

"What's up, MacCready? Is your leg bothering you? Can I get you anything?" Garvey shotgunned Mac with helpfulness, leaving him a little stunned.

“The leg’s fine thanks, Garvey. It’s just, oh, I dunno, I _know_ I should be happy, I’ve got everything I ever wanted after all, but sometimes, I just wonder what’s the point of it all?” He noted the alarm in Garvey’s eyes, “Oh, no nothing like that, it’s just everything is settled, everything is going to plan so why do I feel so… adrift? Is that the right word? I’m not sure but, oh, never mind. Forget I said anything, please?” MacCready didn’t want to be bothering Garvey with his problems, they couldn’t be that bad anyway, if he couldn’t give a voice to them, it was nothing that a few days peace and quiet wouldn’t fix.

"Well, Major, I'm ordering you to take a few days leave. Seriously MacCready, you look tired man. We're more than well-staffed here. Come along way in a few years, huh?"

“Certainly have, when I remember back to what it used to be like, oh man, all those damn ‘lurks all over! Yeah, a few days off would be nice, thanks Garvey. I need to go and get my head together.” MacCready pondered, should he go back to Sanctuary, it was quite a journey on foot, or maybe somewhere closer to the Castle? Goodneighbor was a no-no, no chance of a quiet break once Hancock had got wind of him being there for a vacation. Nope, there was a better place that he could go to that wasn’t too far.

* * *  
Vincent squared away his equipment in his personal quarters on the Prydwen. He carefully wrapped the small wooden object in a scrap of flannel and put it in his bomber jacket inside pocket, right next to his heart.

Every Brotherhood soldier saluted him as he passed, making his escape a little tedious as he saluted in return. There was only one mission on his mind, one that he had been neglecting for far too long. He took a vertibird over to the Castle, noticing Preston's familiar sihouette on the wall before landing. He jumped out of the 'bird and ran up the steps to enquire if Mac was currently on duty. Preston greeted him warmly.

"General, good to see you, sir. We weren't expecting a visit, is everything alright?"

"Hopefully it will be soon," Vin replied. "Personal mission, Garvey. Is Mac on duty?" 

"Sorry, Vincent, you just missed him. I'm a little concerned, though, he seemed…less buoyant than usual. I dismissed him from duty. Tell him he can take all the time he needs...though when he's ready to train more recruits, I'll be glad to have him back. He's a great teacher."

"Thankyou, Preston." The Vertibird was in the air, heading away. "My lift has other places to be.. I'll tag along northwest with the patrol." 

"The next one is gearing up to go now, if you're ready?" 

"The sooner, the better."

The roads were much clearer these days and the journey to Sanctuary was swift. Vin went straight home only to find it empty. A gentle 'wussshhhh' of thruster sounded and suddenly Codsworth was there. 

"So good to see you, Mr. Vincent, sir. Are you seeking Mr. MacCready? I'm afraid he has not been home, though my internal calendar does not have his return listed for three days, yet. Is master Shaun well, might I enquire?"

"Not here? Damn. Where can he be…"

"May I suggest use of the Overseer's Population Terminal? He does still carry the marker chip, does he not?"

Vin grabbed hold of Codsworth's formost ocular orb with both hands and kissed it. "You're a genius, Codsworth."

"Well, now, Sir, a little intellectually elevated at best…but you failed to answer my question," the Mr. Handy wheedled as he floated after Vincent who was now running down the street to the Hub. He entered the door to the prefab Vault-Tec cube and dashed up to the monitor. 

Codsworth caught up and Vin called over his shoulder, "Oh he's fine. Studying, at the Airport Labs. Quinlan is impressed." Vin was now typing frantically and correlating information from the screen with his PIP-boy.

"Good, good. Master Duncan is behaving well, overall, save one broken pane in the greenhouse resulting in a confiscated ball. I removed the glass shards, fear not."

"Diamond City…" muttered Vin, only just registering what Codsworth had relayed. "Mm…thanks. I'll be back on schedule, Codsworth," he announced and with that, left for the Great Green Jewel.  
* * *  
It was a long time since MacCready had been alone in Diamond City. In fact, it was a long time since he’d been alone anywhere. Upon opening up Home Plate, the musty air had made him cough and splutter. The dwelling seemed as a dejected and morose as MacCready himself. He wasn’t sure how long he’d spent sitting on the sofa, but eventually the pangs of hunger had him heading out seeking sustenance. Takahashi’s noodle bar had been deserted and he managed to sit and eat his noodles without disturbance. He was just rising from his stool when he heard a familiar voice calling his name, turning round he saw Travis Miles approaching. They greeted each other, and Travis invited MacCready back to Diamond City Radio to hang out. MacCready readily agreed, Travis wasn’t demanding company, and who knows, maybe he’d even let him choose some of his favourite tunes to play on the radio.

* * *  
The road was quiet. A few brahmin caravans, a couple of wild dogs but no sudden raider, robot or ravaging supermutant attacks like in the old days. 

Vin put his PIP-boy radio on to fill the quiet. If there _were_ any ferals lurking, it would help to draw them out so he could pick them off anyway. Not that he expected to hear as much as a groan. Preston had organised patrols of Minutemen along the routes between settlemenrs regularly and settler scavenger teams picked apart the ruinous interiors of buildings between those routes. 

The first tune he heard was "It's All Over but the Crying". Vin rolled his eyes, not the cheery company he needed right now but the tune was halfway through when he'd turned the personal radio on. He was most of the way there now, anyway and hoped for the next song to get him to the outskirts. "One More Tomorrow" came on next and did nothing to improve Vin's mood. "Where the hell is all the rock and roll today? Come on, Travis," he complained ineffectively to the DJ.

A swarm of bloodbugs buzzed up from a deep, dripping chasm in the old road. Vin picked them off easily, thinking that the crack was new and that he'd have to order a team to check it out. As he tapped a reminder into his wrist-bound device, the song on the radio changed to Billie Holiday singing "Crazy, He Calls Me," which made Vin's heart ache for Mac. He just wanted to be home, with the guy he was crazy for.

The song ended with a crackle. 

A brahmin pushed past Vin in a narrow valley, bombarding his good ear with a mooing duet, 

" _…….. why are you here in Diamond City all on your lonesome listening to sad songs?”_ the sightly distant voice of Travis 'Lonely' Miles asked. Listeners heard the rustle of fabric, the scrape of a boot against a linoleum floor.

The trader's apology and stamping brahmin hooves didn't quite muffle the quieter speaker on Vin's PIP-boy radio.

_“Honestly? I’m not even sure myself, I just needed some time on my own to mope, get this stupid wedding thing out of my system?”_

The brahmin farted right into Vincent's path as it went past. The trader chuckled and shouted an apology over her shoulder.

_“….not married yet then?”_

_“Whoops!….Sorry folks, got company tonight, umm, yeah no one heard anyway I’m sure, and if you did, you know what to do! Forget you did. And urgh, yeah, anyway here’s another song for you all.”_

Vincent actually stopped in his tracks, frowning, his brain processing the brahmin sounds, scents and unusual radio banter slowly behind his foremost thoughts of home, of how he would go about it, what he would say, where he would say it.

A new song started, Betty Hutton almost growling "He's a Demon, He's a Devil, He's a Doll" and then suddenly, like the Supermutant and the Rock joke, it hit him.

* * *

“Now that is a tune, Travis,” MacCready declared as he downed another bottle of beer. 

“I know right?” Travis swivelled around in his seat once he knew he was off air, and took a swig of his own beer. “Can’t play these things too often, people say it’s _depressing_ ” Travis’ fingers made quote signs in the air to empathsise the word. ‘Nice to have a fellow afficionado here for a change. Got any other requests?”

“Oh, plenty, plenty,” MacCready helped himself to another beer from Travis’ stash. 

“Great,” said Travis, as he rocked back and forth in time to the sad song. “And if the listeners don’t like it they can always switch to the classical station for one night only.”

Travis started cueing the next track to start. “What’s the deal, Mac, why are you here in Diamond City all on your lonesome listening to sad songs?”  
“Honestly? I’m not even sure myself, I just needed some time on my own to mope, get this stupid wedding thing out of my system, I guess?” MacCready wasn’t entirely sure.

“You two not married yet then?” Hapless Travis didn’t even realise his faux pas, and maybe it was the beers that he had been drinking to keep pace with MacCready, but he also didn’t realise that he had been transmitting their chat whilst cueing the next song ready to start. 

“Whoops!” he exclaimed, “Sorry folks, got company tonight, umm, yeah no one heard anyway I’m sure, and if you did, you know what to do! Forget you did. And urgh, yeah, anyway here’s another song for you all.”

Mac turned to Travis, his face blushing with rage and embarrassemnt _”You broadcast that?_ Travis you bumbling… buffoon! Hang on a minute, you’re not broadcasting us now are you?” He glared at the mixing desk distrustfully.  
“No, honestly Mac, it’s sorted now. Don’t worry, hardly anyone listens at this time anyway!” Travis checked again. Everything was back as it should be. “So.. anyway Mac.. how come no wedding?”  
Mac glared at Travis, hoping that he’d get the message. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

* * *

"Hey, Sir," Danny saluted Vin as he entered the gate. "Welcome home!"

"Hey Danny. You see MacCready pass through here?"

"Sure, he hasn't left since he got here. You..um…you two finally got some leave together?" Danny was unsure whether or not to mention the radio blunder and decided against it.

Vin stared for a moment. _Did **everybody**_ in the Commonwealth know they were a couple? _Probably, by now, after **that** stunt_ he admitted to himself. The initial flush of embarrassed anger had dissipated by the time he had quick-marched the rest of the way to the Great Green Jewel. "Yeah, Danny. Long time comin'."

He jogged down the steps into the city, neons and fairy lights bright against the deep indigo sky. Vincent felt a tingle run through his body, heard his heart beating loud in his ears, his stomach doing a jitterbug jive. He knew this feeling having had it once before in his life. She'd said 'yes' but would _he_?

He was standing before the red door before he knew it. His keys were in his pocket but for some reason he knocked.

MacCready levered himself up from the sofa. He’d left Travis a short while ago, and assumed that it was the DJ, come to bring back something he’d left behind at the radio station HQ. Who else could it be? Nick Valentine or Piper? Nah, not at this late hour. “OK, OK, Travis I’m coming, give me a minute,” he grumbled as he headed to the door.

He flung it open with a flourish, “So Travis, what did I for.. “ he stopped midsentence as he realised that it wasn’t the slight figure of Travis Miles standing in the doorway, but the thickset one of his partner. “Vin? Is it really you? What are you doing here?”

As soon as Vincent saw MacCready, he felt like he could breathe again. The mothmen in his stomach were still jiving though and he couldn't say what he really wanted to say just yet, so he settled for, 

"I forgot something real important."

Stepping inside and turning to reach for the handle, Vincent closed the door. He wasn't sure what to say, how to begin but MacCready was looking a little rough, too dark around the eyes. It was probably after midnight by now, he realised.

"Go take a load off," said Vin gently, indicating the plush armchair the other side of the Nuka World Park Map partition with a jut of his chin. "I'll make some tea." It wouldn't do to rush into it, as much as Vin wanted to get it over with. He crumbled some dried mutfruit leaves into the teapot and stuck the full kettle on the stove. 

“Forgot something? Forgot what?” Mac raised his voice above the noises coming from the kitchen area. What could possibly be so important that Vin would rock up in the dead of night when he was supposed to be at the Prydwen?

"My priorities," Vin mumbled, deliberately to himself so Mac wouldn't hear. 

The tea made and settled onto a side table, still steaming, Vincent knelt down in front of his romanced companion. He inhaled deeply, swallowed and reached into his inner pocket. The cloth shrouded object stayed nestled in his large hand as he spoke, "You once gave me something very important to you. It has taken me _this long_ ," Vin admitted with an apologetic half-smile, " to be able to ask this in reply," Vin opened his hand slowly to reveal a small, painted wooden figure, not a soldier as he had been gifted but a Grognak the Barbarian.

"Robert Joseph MacCready, my hero, will you marry me?" 

Vincent held out the little figure nervously, trying to read his expression and failing; waiting for Mac to take it, to say something…

MacCready looked at the small wooden figure in puzzlement. He’d dreamed of this moment for so many years, but now that it had arrived he found himself totally at a loss for words. He sat for a few minutes, just staring at Vin kneeling in front of him on the hard concrete floor. “Could have chosen somewhere more romantic,” he mumbled peevishly. He hated being taken by surprise, and this was a huge shock, albeit a pleasant one. Vin’s face was crestfallen, and MacCready felt an enormous pang of guilt. What was he thinking? Here was Vin doing the very thing that he had craved for so long and all he could do was be an asshole about it. Why did he have to ruin the moment like this? “Umm, forget what I just said, it was just a surprise… of course I’ll marry you Huggy Bear. Could you even doubt it? Now get up off that cold floor and give me a kiss.”

Vin's smile lit up his whole face. He knelt up just high enough to reach MacCready's lips and cradle his head with his large hand. "I love you, Mac…and to me, there's nowhere more romantic than right here with you. Where we have the pad to ourselves. But…"

“I need to tell someone…” MacCready cut in, “I know it sounds stupid, but I won’t believe it myself until we tell someone. Even if it’s just Percy at the Surplus store. Pleeeeease can we tell someone? Hey, maybe Piper’s still awake, she could put an announcement in the Publick. I bet Travis is still up too, he could make a callout on the radio… And the barflies at The Dugout, maybe we just pop-in for a second or two? Have a little celebratory drink and come home.” He stopped, having run out of steam if not enthusiasm.

Vin laughed. "Absolutely, Cinnamon Bun but…" 

“But?” MacCready prepared to have the wind taken from his sails. This was all too good to be true after all.

"I got cramp! Maybe shouldn'ta run all the way here after hearin' that uh…radio show," Vin paused to watch Mac's expression. 

On this night of shock and revelation, MacCready had totally forgotten Travis’ earlier blunder. “Oh god, you heard that? That idiot Travis, still doesn’t know one button from another after all these years.” Mac’s cheeks were glowing, but he wanted to know the extent of the damage. “Just how much did you, and everyone else listening, actually hear?”

"Oh…enough to need a little damage control sooner rather than later. We should tell everyone. We'll go to Travis and Piper _in the morning_ but there's only one person I wanna tell right now…and who is very likely to be awake."

Vin & Mac knocked gently on the door of the Valentine Detective Agency, mindful that Ellie was probably sleeping within.

After a few moments and following some small noises coming from within, the door opened a fraction and a pair of yellow eyes looked through the crack. “You two? At this time? Hope there’s nothing wrong?” 

“Come outside Nick,” MacCready whispered, “Nothing’s wrong. Quite the opposite in fact!”  
Nick stepped outside and shut the door as quietly as possible, which proved to be an exercise in futility as MacCready announced at the top of his voice. “Guess who’s getting married!”

He was met with reflexive shushing from both Valentine and Vin. “Sorry,” he whispered, “It’s just that I’m so excited! Nick, he did it, he popped the question!”

Valentine leaned in toward them both to say quietly, "You really want this to be the first mug you tell?"

Vin chuckled and patted the detective on the back. "Absolutely, Partner, you're my best friend and, well, my other best friend over here is the best partner I could have wished for." Vincent circled his other arm about MacCready's shoulders and was lost, for a moment, in those sharp blue eyes.

"Well, ain't I the gooseberry now. It's late, fellas, go get some rest. Rooster Jo here can crow about it in public in the mornin'. Hey," Nick said before either could react to the bad pun. "I really am happy for ya both. Took you long enough, though, Hudson!" With that, he tipped his fedora and went quietly back inside.

"Tea'll be cold," said Vin, turning them both toward Homeplate.

“Bit of cold tea won’t dampen my spirits,” murmured Mac, “Ok, I suppose we better wait until morning to tell everyone else, let's head home.” As they entered Homeplate, MacCready downed his lukewarm cup of tea in one gulp. “There we are, I’m ready for bed now, fiancé!”

"Hmm…'fiancé'," said Vin, habitually stroking his 'tache. "Think I'm gonna prefer 'husband' or.. 'hubby'?." He started walking toward the staircase but grabbed Mac's hand and tugged as he passed him.

“Easy tiger!” Mac exclaimed, “Wait a mo Vin, I’ve got to get my Grognak!” Mac broke free from Vin’s grasp and grabbed the little wooden effigy of Grognak that he’d left on the table in his haste to announce his engagement to the world. “This little fella is going to go everywhere with me now, thanks, Vin, he’s great.” MaCready placed the figure reverently into his pocket. “Right, let’s go have our first night together as an engaged couple!”

Vin sat on the bottom of the staircase, reddening suddenly, which was not difficult given his fair complexion. MacCready rather loved the way it made his freckles pop.

"Mac, I, uh…I want to give you more. More of me. Um…I'm ready to try it now. You wanna?" His wide green eyes looked up at MacCready with both attraction and shyness.

“Sure, but there’s no rush…” Mac was feeling exhausted, now that sobriety was kicking in his body was sending him messages that he needed to sleep, and he tried to supress a yawn and failed miserably. “I want it to be … special… not a drunken fumble. I mean, I know you’re sober but I’m kinda flaked out.” He took Vin’s hand in his, and looked deep into his eyes, “I know how much this means to you, and it does to me too, but we’ve got the rest of our lives together.”

Vin looked both relieved and a little disappointed. He'd been working himself up to this for so long. Truth be told, he _was_ tired, so he stood and, walking backwards up the stairs, gently led Mac up with him, slow and mindful that stairs were trickier for him these days.

"Come and just snuggle with your Huggy Bear then," he grinned, loving his nickname. "But we have a date for the morning. I need you to show me the ropes."

“A snuggle sounds perfect.” Mac said as he navigated the steps. He clambered into bed beside Vin, and within seconds was sound asleep in his lover’s embrace.

* * *  
**December 22nd**

Mac awoke to see Vin propped up in bed smiling down on him. 

“Wow, I had a really weird dream last night!” Mac exclaimed. “I dreamed that you _actually_ proposed to me.” He saw Vin’s expression become anxious. “Woah, I’m just kidding, I know you really did! Don’t worry you haven’t got to do it again. So, what made you _finally_ change your mind? I can’t help but think if I was a woman it wouldn’t have taken so long, maybe I’m just crap at henpecking!”

"It wasn't your fault, lover. I had this stupid idea stuck in my head," he said, running his fingers over the fine dark hairs on MacCready's chest, under his t-shirt. "I was afraid of losing another spouse and that if I didn't marry again, that wouldn't happen. A _certain person_ pointed out to me that, married or not, I couldn't escape that risk anyway. Especially since we've been living as if we were for the past few years." 

“ _A certain person_? Oooh, that’s intriguing. Who was it? Umm let me guess, Piper? Valentine?.... _Garvey?_?” As Mac reeled off the list of names he was shocked at how long the list could potentially be as almost every single one of their friends and acquaintances had constantly queried when the pair would ‘make it official.’

"Well, you've had the three guesses I was gonna give you. Try one more. You won't guess, though."

“Umm, well it would have to be someone that you’d actually listen to and take advice from, and the prime suspects have all tried and failed, as far as I know. Oh god, it wasn’t Old Longfellow was it?” Mac was casting around for the most unlikely candidate from Vin’s wide acquaintance.

"Nope. It was Arthur Maxson. Trust me, I was more surprised than you are." Vin kissed Mac on the lips, briefly. "I'm sorry I made you wait."

“Arthur Maxson? Well, that’s a turn up. You’re right, I’d never have guessed that he would have been in our favor. Amazed that you’d listen to him over all our other colleagues though.” Mac shook his head at the thought of their unlikely champion.

"Well. He was the only one to say it straight: that I'd be just as broken if I lost you, married or not and reckoned you'd feel the same. Plus, even the Elder has noticed you crankin' up the crankiness recently and figured out why…which is more than I did." Vin looked pretty shame-faced.

“Hey Vin, it doesn’t matter now, all that matters is that you’ve done it! I can’t wait to tell the boys when we get home. And don’t forget, we’ve got a wedding to plan.” MacCready had been planning their wedding in his mind for years, and now he was excited that he could actually make his plans into reality.

"The boys won't have to wait 'til we get home, Bun." Vin sniffed his armpit. "This shirt stinks. I was gonna change but you passed out on top of me last night. Your shirt don't smell so fresh either. What _are_ we gonna do about that?

“Whoops, sorry ‘bout that. S’pose we better take them off then… “ Mac hastily removed his t-shirt, and scooted up to the bathroom for a quick wash and Vin joined him, lending him a shoulder so he didn't have to replace his foot just yet.

Vincent breathed deeply of MacCready's scent, that warm, savoury, slightly smokey flavour that he had first really noticed after that forced detoxification, when Mac had trimmed his bed-bound beard.

Vin nuzzled softly into Mac's palm now, breathing him in, kissing the tender, uncalloused dip. Mac brushed a thumb over Vin's ginger-haired top lip.

Vin’s bushy moustache felt tickly to the touch, and MacCready felt a pleasant tingle as the sensation moved up his arm, feeling goose bumps rise as the bristles brushed his thumb and palm.

"Oh, you know my lip got split boxing? Healed back kinda flat, I never like to see the scar. Here," he said, lifting his lip until Mac could see the long line from lip to gum underneath, "see that? It was a bad cut. My teeth got pushed in, too but dental work fixed that. Worst bit was the nurse shaving round the split. Nearly passed out. Thought I was gonna end up lookin' like a cat!"

Mac chuckled, “Well, thank goodness it healed up perfect, no harm done and no Mr. Pebbles look for you!”

Vin grimaced. "Thank goodness. So, you got any scars you never showed me yet?" Vincent ran a finger down the long laser burn on MacCready's side; such as it was. Stimpaks were amazing. His touch was light and he placed a kiss at the end of the scar.

“You’ve probably seen them all, you’re pretty thorough! There are so many I’ve forgotten where they came from… Scars on top of scars. I know it sounds corny, but it’s the scars that you can’t see, those are the ones that I’ve shown only to you… Lucy, Duncan’s illness, the atrocities I committed with the Gunners. These are the things I’ve only shown to you…” MacCready trailed off, now wasn’t the time for sad thoughts.

"Well, let me try and kiss those away. Where shall I begin?" Vin placed his large, warm hand over Mac's heart. He could feel the thumping heartbeats and slid his hand over his firm pec, feeling Mac's nipple go pert.

“Well, that’s a great start,” Mac sighed, as Vin kissed his chest. He combed his fingers through Vin’s rich auburn mane of hair, luxuriating in its soft feel.

Vin suddenly lifted his partner to sit on his hips, turning to carry him down the short staircase to the bedroom. Mac instinctively wrapped both knees around his fiancés broad, toned waist, his instinct being to lock his ankles together but the left one was M.I.A., a chewtoy for a deathclaw.

Lowering him to the bed with great control ( _show off_ , thought MacCready) Vin's head moved toward Mac's left nipple. His warm breath preceded the warm tongue that tasted it, tickling him with his facial hair. Simultaneously, his right hand ventured down to Mac's thigh.

 _Gotta start somewhere. I hope he likes this…man, he smells good,_ Vin thought. He had a goal in mind, the one thing he'd resisted for years and courageously tried to initiate twice but never at an appropriate moment. All he could think of right now was being closer to his love.

MacCready wondered if Vin remembered what he’d said last night. He certainly wasn’t going to mention it, the last thing that he wanted to do was to put pressure on Vin. He was only going to feel happy and comfortable if Vin felt happy and comfortable.

Vin's hand slid across, brushing Mac's blooming erection. He teasingly brushed his fingers up and down it before bringing his thumb up to moisten in his mouth, then placed the wet, calloused pad to MacCready's tip.

MacCready took an deep intake of breath, and pushed his hips up, craving more of Vin’s attentions.The larger man loomed protectively over him, stimulating him just enough to get him stiff and ready. He sat up, not letting go and with his left hand, fumbled the First Aid box on the wall open, taking out a small bottle. "Here, best lube I could find. Where do you want me, hero?"

“First of all, can you grab a couple of spare towels and put them on the bed? Then it’s probably best if you lay face down, is that OK?” MacCready felt slightly ill at ease giving Vin instructions but realising on this occasion it was best if he took the lead, being the more experienced partner.

"Sure, hang on," Vin got up and stepped over to the nearby wooden dresser, tugging open a stiff wonky drawer. "Here, spread these out."

His heart was pounding. He deliberately deepened and slowed his breathing. _Just like a good workout,_ he told himself and lowered himself onto his front, bringing his muscular arms up to pillow his head.

“The most important thing to do next is …. Relax!” Mac could feel the tension radiating from Vin’s body. “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle, I know it’s going to feel a little weird to start with, but if you are tense or not on board with it, it may be slightly painful. So, first of all, I’m going to just help you relax a bit.” Mac applied plenty of lube to his fingertips and gently started to prepare Vin with his fingers.

Vin felt a tingle rush up to his scalp. He also felt the kind of tingle he usually associated with a damn good dump…but then it became something else, something inviting.

Mac felt his lover was starting to relax, so he started to apply some lube to himself, as he carried on stimulating Vin with his other hand. “Ok, Vin, do you feel ok to carry on?”

Vin was breathing more heavily again, his hips rocking invitingly. In his head, sweet words queued, waiting. What actually managed to escape his lips was "Shit, yeah, Mac…I need you!"

“Ok, Huggy Bear,” Mac kissed Vin on the back of his neck, before guiding himself as smoothly and gently as he could into what Vin had previously regarded as ‘a no go area’. “Let me know if you want me to stop, darling.”

'Darling'. Nobody had called him that since Nora. Fireworks went off inside him and quiet tears flooded out as he received his love into depths of himself that had been frozen shut for years. He slowly, rhythmically moved in synch with Mac's gentle thrusts, getting very gradually stronger and more confident but the tears kept flowing.

Mac noticed the tears and wasn’t too concerned. He knew from experience that this could happen the first time, especially in someone as exposed and vulnerable as Vin was allowing himself to be. He assumed that as every other indication was that Vin was enjoying himself as much as he was, he carried on, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before he reached the point of no return.

The movements became stronger, quicker, as Vin allowed this new experience to unfold. He felt every movement MacCready made, heard his lover gasp in pleasure just as he echoed the sound. Soon, he had reached his limit and hoped it was enough…

MacCready let rip a guttural moan, as he reached his peak, “Oh Vin,” he murmured, “I love you so much.” A few seconds to compose himself before withdrawing very, very slowly. He discreetly wiped himself on one of the towels, before lying beside Vin, stroking his hair and kissing him softly.

With no voice to be found, Vin just whispered, "I love you, I love you…"

The sounds of the city outside seemed to ebb away from the shanty town apartment, leaving Vin and Mac in quiet privacy. All they could hear was each other, gasps of breath, rough hands brushing smooth skin, kisses, so many kisses. It had been too long since the two dads had had no risk of young intruders into their personal space. 

Vincent grabbed MacCready's hand, placing it on his dick, asking for relief with his actions alone. He released his gentle grip on Mac's wrist to grab a small, dark-haired buttock and let a finger stray where it never had before, a hint of what he hoped was to come.

"Can I..?" he gasped, at the same time worried that his girth would be uncomfortable for his smaller companion. Not that Mac was much less endowed, at all. Vin was also acutely aware that some bastard Gunners had mistreated this precious man and Vin didn't know if Mac had had any positive experiences in this… _specific_ area since, to overlay the bad ones. He was sensitively aware that he may suddenly have to withdraw.

“Yes, of course,” although he felt fully satisfied himself, he was more than happy to do as Vin wished.

He gently maneuvered MacCready in front of him, mindful to repeat what he had learned. Brushing his hand over Mac's shoulder, ribs, hip, he tentatively pushed two fingers in, slowly, making circles. "This okay?" he asked.

“Perfect, you’re a quick study!” MacCready appreciated Vin’s tender loving care, not everyone that he had been involved with in the past had had the slightest concern for his comfort or welfare.

Applying more lube to himself, feeling that he'd burst any minute, Vin slid himself into his lover's intimate embrace. He held onto Mac's slim hips and thrust, over and over, warmth flooding through him, heart pounding in his ears, faster, rougher now, a loud growl escaping, his deep voice vibrating in both their chests as he finally came. He didn't disconnect immediately but tipped them both slowly onto their sides and drew Mac into a curled-up hug.

The two lay tangled in each other and a bed sheet. "Well, shit-chute ain't off limits anymore, lover. That was fuckin' amazing!" Vin purred. 

Mac resisted the urge to make an ‘I told you so’ remark, and the effort that it took was superhuman. He waited a few moments to let the smugness pass, he was feeling proud of Vin, knowing how many mental barriers he’d just demolished, and the smugness could wait until later. He was pretty sure that Vin would be feeling a slight soreness soon, if he wasn’t already, so he instead he murmured, “I take there will be repetitions then?”

"Oh, love. I just wanna keep finding ways to show you how much you mean to me. But yeah, yeah we can do _that_ again. At least, when we can be sure of absolute privacy." Vin kissed Mac deeply. "I don't wanna move…but I'm starved. You?" he asked, turning a mussed auburn head toward his soon-to-be husband.

“Now you mention it, yeah, I’m starving too. We’d better have a hearty breakfast, we’ve got a big day ahead of us, you know, telling the world about our engagement!” MacCready also remembered the damage limitation required due to the radio bungle, but he decided not to mention it and ruin the moment.

Before too long, an extra-large feast was laid out on the diner table in the kitchen. Vin sat down a little gingerly, but assured MacCready with a huge grin that he was just fine. "We're gettin' married, after all!" 

* * *  
Vincent rapped on Travis' radio shack door. It rattled open, revealing a rather wrecked looking DJ. "Heeeeyyyy, oh…General..Sentinel..um…"

"Hey, Travis. You know just 'Vin' is cool, right?"

"Vin..cent yes. I..sorry man, I just woke up."  
"You look like you could use some breakfast. We need to talk," Mac peered around Vin's wide shoulder and grinned.

"Uh-oh. That…last night? It was an accident! Live radio, y'know?" he laughed nervously, relapsing into the nervous radio geek that Vincent had met when he first came to Diamond City. 

“It's OK Travis, we come in peace! Anyway, it wasn’t you fault. I shouldn’t have said that stuff in the first place. Especially since Vin has _finally_ gotten round to popping the question.” Mac grinned at Travis, who was looking slightly less concerned, “So you gonna invite us in or not?”

Vin put up a halting hand. "I have a better idea."

They went to grab a cup of joe at the Dugout and took the more private circular table at the back.  
Vincent ordered a sweetroll on top of the breakfast he had just eaten at home and cleared his plate before saying anything.

"So Mac and I have an important personal announcement - that he just let slip," added Vin, mischievously glaring at his partner, "and we'd like to utilise Diamond City Radio. We'll give you a hundred caps for thirty seconds and a few song requests, sound reasonable?"

Mac’s eyes opened wide, “Pretend you didn’t hear that Travis. One hundred caps! Let’s not be too hasty! You’d do it for free wouldn’t you Travis?”  
The ambushed DJ nodded in agreement, then mumbled, “A hundred caps would be nice though.. “ he pretended not to notice Mac’s continued gaze on him.

Vin elbowed Mac in the ribs. "Radio station doesn't run on farts 'n' sunshine, does it Miles?"

"You…know I'd do it for free for you, don't you, Gen..er..uh..Vin?"

"That's kind of you to say but you'll get paid, Travis. So I was hoping to start by dedicating a tune to our sons? There's something they need to know as soon as possible. Mac, what song does Dunc like best?"

Mac still wanted the last word about the one hundred caps, so he mumbled something about artistic integrity not being what it used to be before creasing his brow in thought. “Umm I think his favourite at the moment is ‘Uranium Fever’ although that could have changed by now.”

"Ok, Shaun likes "Good Rockin' Tonight", Vin said. 

Travis got a notebook out of his pocket and started scribbling notes. "I can do both, back to back."

"How are we gonna do this, Mac? One of us sayin' it over the airwaves? Write a line for Travis to announce?" Vin asked. He wanted his new fiancé to have this ball in his court.

“I’d like to have Travis say it please?” he turned to Travis, “You gotta earn those 100 caps, man.” Travis’ already habitually anxious face triggered alarm. Mac giggled guiltily; he knew he shouldn’t tease Travis but sometimes it was too tempting. “I’m just kidding, Vin’s right, you deserve the 100 caps. Maybe more.” Mac flashed a wicked grin at Vin.

"One hundred flat," Vin glared back. He was going to go up another 50 but remembered what he currently owed the swear-jar.

“Ok Travis, you got paper and a pen?” Travis nodded and produced the aforementioned articles, Mac continued, “Right, here’s what you can say, but you’re welcome to riff on it a little too, _I am very happy to announce that as of last night Sentinel-General Vin Hudson and Paladin-Major Robert MacCready are engaged to be married. The wedding date and venue has yet be to be decided, but it won’t be a long engagement._ ”  
Mac turned to Vin, “Anything I forgot, or do you want to add anything?” Travis was still rushing to jot down Mac’s words.

"Um..yeah, that'll about do it," mumbled Vin through his moustache. Maxson's words were swirling around in his head _. 'It would help morale and discipline if you both would…make it official.'_. "Oh, say something like _The citizens of the Commonwealth are invited to join in with celebrations on the day, details to follow."_ Vin glanced sideways at Mac to gauge his reaction to this essential part of the arrangements that they hadn't even had a chance to discuss yet.

“Hang on a minute… the Citizens of the Commonwealth are not invited to join! This is supposed to be our special day, I’m not having it turned into some excuse for a drunken circus. C’mon Vin, what the heck are you thinking?” He turned to Travis ,”Don’t include that bit,” Travis started scoring out words, as he already started writing it down.

"Excuse us for a minute Travis. Hey Bobrov?" Vin shouted. Both brothers drawled a "Yeees?" Vincent stood up, gently pulling Mac with him. "Somewhere for a quick private chat?"

Vadim came out from behind the bar, unlocked a door and led them to the quiet back room. "Just talking, you two, yes?" 

" **Vadim.** "

"Privacy, yes my friends. No problem, _I'vionachik_ ," with which, he backed out and closed the door.

"Mac," Vin started cautiously, seeing the irritation in his love's face. "Mac, Bun…" Vin's tone was edging dangerously near to wheedling which was the last thing he needed right now. He perched on top of the ancient tumble dryer, which creaked in surrender. 

"Listen, Mac. As much as I hate to admit it, we are public figures. Maxson _and_ Preston both look to me as a public example and you too, by association and rank. The Elder told me that just the simple fact we have a personal relationship is affecting morale and discipline. Moreso in the Brotherhood but there are a few in the Blue who have been causing some issues.

"We need this out in the open, to exemplify a solid, moral foundation. To have a public ceremony that makes our stance very clear. To say, hell yeah, these two guys are madly in love with each other and fuck, it doesn't matter if you're human, ghoul or Genthree, if there's love it should be recognised, honoured and applauded! No-one should have to hide away a relationship or who they are if they are decent fucking people that deserve to be HAPPY." 

Vincent's face was red, his broad chest heaving. The whole bar had probably heard that last, bellowed word.

Mac’s eyes opened wide, startled and bemused.

"Don't get me wrong, Mac...I'd much rather it was a small affair, just our friends and family, quiet and personal. But I have a duty to the Minutemen of Steel, to the people of the Commonwealth to be this hero they all keep sayin' that I am. To pave the way for a sane, compassionate culture that not just survives but thrives…not because it's anything like a personal agenda but because I'm the defrosted mug that hit the damn reset button on the Commonwealth and now it feels like everybody is always lookin' in my direction. So…I always knew it'd have to be public, somehow."  
Vin's voice trailed off but he was looking MacCready in the eyes with an expression of quizzical apology.

“If you’d much rather it was a small affair, then make it so, Sentinel-General,” Mac was determined not to cave too easily. “Did you really go through everything that you’ve been through just to roll over and do what’s _expected of you_? To do what’s easy?” He glared at Vin, who remained silent. “No, I thought not,” Mac continued. “We do it our way or not at all. And by our way I mean a way that we’re both happy with, not the way Arthur Maxson, or Preston Garvey or whoever thinks that they’ve got a damn say in our business wants it to be. You’ve done your duty to the Minutemen of Steel and deserve to keep your personal life, well, _personal _.”__

__Vincent drew Mac into a firm embrace. "It isn't quite that simple, Mac," he said softly, then drew away slightly, his expression lightening._ _

__"What if we could do both?"_ _

__“I’m listening… “ MacCready drawled._ _

__"I mean, if we hold the ceremony at the Castle but only let in a small number of guests, just friends and family, aside from a small guard.…we could broadcast part of it over the castle radio, but keep to ourselves as much as possible. Whaddya think, Bun?"_ _

__“I s’pose so. Can’t believe anyone would want to listen, but it’s a strange old world we live in. I don’t want it to turn into a massive bunfight though, you know? I don’t want our day to be interrupted by having to go and rescue people that’ve gotten themselves in a drunken calamity.” Mac was still concerned that the good people of the Commonwealth would use the day as an excuse for mayhem._ _

__Vin's huge grin appeared at the word 'bunfight', since he'd just that second used Mac's shortened nickname of 'Cinnamon Bun'._ _

__"I think we have enough militia and knights at our disposal to make sure that doesn't happen, _Paladin-Major_." Vin knew that MacCready didn't fully appreciate the weight his rank held, even now. There was a lot to being a real soldier._ _

__"Shall we tell Travis to go ahead with just what you said?" Vin asked._ _

__“Yeah, that’s probably best for now, especially as we haven’t set a date yet. Speaking of which… “ Mac’s grin was dazzling and directed straight at Vin, his worries and objections seemed to have evaporated, at least for the time being._ _

__"Your thoughts?" queried Vin in the rich, deep voice that Mac found so magnetic._ _

__“How does January the 11th sound? It’s symbolic, I guess, makes the number 111 so at least you’ll not forget our anniversary? Or is it too crass?” Mac blushed recalling the horrible events that had occurred in vault 111._ _

__Vin's face became serious. He took each of MacCready's hands in his own and swallowed.  
"I wouldn't have been here, with you now, if Nora had been allowed to dig up the legal dirt on Vault-Tec that I've seen since… we'd never have gone in. That number means so much to me now. It's the gateway I passed through to find you. It's perfect, Mac."_ _

__* * *_ _

__You are listening to… _Diamond City Radio_. This is Travis 'Lonely' Miles broadcasting on the shortest day of the year. Happy Midwinter, folks, things can only get brighter from here!_ _

__One ray of sunshine we'd like to bring you today comes as an announcement from the Sentinel-General and Paladin-Major themselves, but first, a song request dedicated to Shaun and Duncan, hey boys, listen up! A special message follows these tunes:_ _

__'Uranium Fever' and 'Good Rockin' Tonight' set more than a few pairs of feet tapping around the Commonwealth. Bluejay turned up the radio in the Atomcats Garage where Shaun was visiting, dropping off a few gifts for the gang. Duncan was at the Longs, playing with Bobbie when he heard his name emitted from the speaker. The music ended and Travis came on._ _

__Well, there's going to be some rad partying going on soon folks. Diamond City Radio is very happy to announce that as of last night, Sentinel-General Vincent Hudson and Paladin-Major Robert MacCready are engaged to be married! The wedding date and venue has yet be to be decided, but it won’t be a long engagement. We wish our heroes all the best for a bright future ahead! Now here's a few feel-good classics to celebrate."_ _

__The radio played 'A Wonderful Guy', 'Happy Times' and 'Rocket 69'._ _

__* * *  
Nat was piling a fresh stack of papers on the table. Vincent and MacCready said "Morning Nat!" simultaneously._ _

__"Wow, it suddenly got echoey round here," said the teenager, sarcastically. "You want my sister? PIPEEEEERRR!" she yelled, without waiting for either to reply._ _

__The reporter emerged. "Now if you'd only yell 'paper' that loud, squirt, we might sell more…" She read Nat's animated eyebrow gesticulations and turned to see the two Minutemen of Steel standing there._ _

__"Hey Blue, you don't write, you don't call…um…hello MacCready. Still watching this big guy's back? So, need somethin' mightier than a sword?" Piper asked, wiggling a blue plastic pen between her two fingers, where a cigarette usually was._ _

__“Yeah, just this once it is!" Piper huffed at that. "We’d like you to announce our engagement in the Publick. Not only that we’ll give ya the scoop. No one knows the date we’ve set yet, but you’re the first to know it’s January eleven.” Mac pronounced smugly._ _

__"Weeell, I think half the Commonwealth just heard _that_ newsflash on the radio and the rest'll know by sundown. There's no caps in second-hand news now, fellas. Why don't you come back when …ooh, I don't know, you've set a date or something? Maybe found a venue? Now that'd be worth printing. Right now boys, I'm busy. Just send a squire with a message or whatever. Bye." _ _

__The door closed in their faces rather abruptly, then opened it again a few moments later._ _

__"Wait, you _have_ a date already? That soon?" Piper was looking a little pale._ _

__“Well duh, thought I’d just said so.” Mac smugly related, “Hey are you OK Piper? You don’t look too well. Rough night was it?”_ _

__"Hmm? Bad Cram. Listen boys, just send a runner , one of those cute Squires or something when you got all the details. By the twenty-sixth, tops! I want times, venue, who's who…I'd go thr…ugh..through it but..I gotta go."_ _

__Again, Piper slammed the door. Nat just shrugged and handed over a note. "These are what she'll want, trust me. Boycott Myrna's Cram," she added with a cheeky glint in her eye. "Bye now, _Sirs_._ _

__* * *  
The road back to Sanctuary was quiet. Both Vin and Mac had wanted to get home to the boys as soon as possible. Shaun would probably beat them to it as Scribe Haylen had promised Vin that he would be able to catch a patrol vertibird as far as Concord for his Midwinter Leave. _ _

__Holidays were something that the Sentinel-General had argued strongly for and Paladin-Colonel Garvey had backed him up. Families should be together, necessary patrol and maintenance shifts should be filled with volunteers and any remaining personel selected fairly._ _

__They stopped near a pylon to rest and eat. The ground was chilly so Vin rolled an old tyre over for MacCready to sit on. They sat shoulder to shoulder, but facing each other, Mac with his feet inside the circle of rubber, Vin with his outside. His gaze caught his left hand, the still-pale band on the finger where his wedding ring had been and without thinking, rubbed his right thumb over it._ _

__He recalled the first time he had proposed, the fuss over the wedding preparations and his stag-do. His gaze went to that faraway place again._ _

__Mac was very aware of Vincent's silence and the fact that the tremors in his right limbs had sneakily returned. He held out a flask of soup._ _

__"Thanks, bud." Vin drank some and the shaking subsided. "Y'know, I was so broken I never thought I'd survive this shitty nightmare of a world…then you came along and dragged those sorry-ass pieces back into some kinda cohesive whole."_ _

__“Much as I’d like to take the credit, you did it all yourself Vin, and somehow managed to put _me_ back together in the process.”_ _

__"Don't ever say you can't mend things. You fixed _me_. Helped me heal." Vincent reached out to hold and caress Mac's wiry upper arm. "I think my Luck stat just hit eleven!" His grin shone across his face, green eyes radiant like sunlight through leaves. "Maybe leaning on each other is what helps us stay together, huh? Let's get back to the boys."_ _


	3. Past Tension, Future Presence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news is out and preparations begin but a Soldier's work is never done.
> 
> A flashback, a sticky situation and a New Year's / Bachelor party.

**Dec 23rd**

Duncan had been watching the road into Sanctuary for what seemed like hours, but only half an hour had passed. He was rewarded with the sight of two familiar figures approaching the bridge from the south. The winter sun was low behind them, but he could tell by the silhouettes that it was his two dads returning. He started running excitedly towards them, wanting to find out straight from the horse’s mouth if they were really planning on getting married.

Mac spotted Duncan running towards them and stepped up his pace to shorten the distance between them. “Morning son, I take it you heard the good news?”  
Duncan nodded, “So, it’s really true then?” He looked at both Vin and Mac for confirmation.

Vincent reached out and held MacCready's hand. "It's really true, MacDunc. Is that alright by you?"

Duncan was shocked by how silly adults could be sometimes. “Well, of course it’s alright with me, Pop!”

Vin grinned and lifted the ten year old up high for a quick bearhug. As he lowered him, he spotted Shaun sauntering up. "Hey, son."

"Hi Dad, Mac. So…" Shaun paused, then posed as if with a microphone, grinning and suddenly sang "Well I heard the news, there's good rockin' toniiiight!" He blushed a little and laughed. "Finally! What took you cats so long? So me an this squirt get to be _official_ brothers, now?"

“Well, I always thought you were anyway," Mac intercepted, "but yeah, in so far as a bit of paper and a big shebang can make anything official. We’ll all have the same surname anyways. Speaking of which, what will that be?” This was the first time that the thought had occurred to MacCready despite the many castles in the air he’d built when dreaming about the nuptials that he thought would never happen.

Shaun's face was bright with excitement. He'd been in his synthetic Genthree adult body for almost eight weeks but was still just sweet sixteen. "So…whose surname _are_ you gonna use, Dad? Maybe mix 'em up like…HudCready or Mac…-son….haha..no that wouldn't work, think the Elder'd be mad. We have to change ours?"

"Woah there, Shaun. Like Mac just pointed out, we…uh…haven't talked about _that_ detail just yet. Hey, grab this bag," said Vin, quickly changing the subject and nimbly slipping the rucksack from MacCready's shoulder and tossing it to his son, who caught it easily before Mac had a chance to complain.

Vin put his arm around Mac's shoulder and the family meandered back to their home in Sanctuary Hills. Not many people were about yet but Sturges moseyed over to slap both men on the arms simultaneously. "You guys finally gettin' circled, huh? 'Bout time!" the greaser drawled. "Congrats, fellas."

“Thanks Sturges, you’re invited of course, it’s January the 11th!” MacCready said eagerly, still enjoying the novelty of being newly engaged.

"Eyyy, I'll be there. Well, you'd best write a list, Preston'll be askin' me what to get ya…though I got an idea."

“What to get? Ahw, c’mon man you don’t need to get us anything! We’ve got everything we need already.” Mac’s happiness was making him unusually magnanimous.

"Try tellin' that to Preston. The man likes givin' - seriously, if we can scav it, restore it or make it, put it down. Sooner rather than later too, guys." Sturges gave a little salute and wandered off to fix something.

The next two days were filled with family, good food, music and gifts. Vin still missed the Boston snow at this time of year..and the New England Clam 'Chowdah'. His Bostonian accent had never been strong like his mother's but what little was left had been lost to the army, so he made Mac laugh whenever he put it on. Winters here now were still chilly but the radstorms chased any hopeful snow clouds away over the mountains. At least there was neither green weather nor rain today but clear, harsh sunlight instead.

Preston and Lu Abernathy joined them for a meal and Vincent had a chance to put forward his plan to use the Castle grounds.

"Mm, by all means, General," said Garvey around an excellent mouthful of roast. "Hey, no ranks at this dinner table," cautioned Vin. "Friends and family only." 

Dogmeat pushed his snout onto Garvey's lap, hoping to be rewarded with some of whatever his best human companion had hunted. He was, handsomely…Garvey was a pushover. The old Alsatian's slobbery chomping made everyone laugh.

"So, I'll order a minimal guard but they'll be the best we have. I'm guessing you want this quite private?" Preston was looking at MacCready when he said this.

“Absolutely, seems we’re on the same wavelength on this Preston,” Mac glanced at Vin apologetically, “Although it seems The Elder has his own ideas on the matter, but between us and these four walls I’m not overly keen on that sheepskin ramrod’s plans.”

Vin cast a surprised warning glance Mac's way. _'Sheepskin ramrod' better not slip out in the wrong place,_ he thought to himself.

"To a point," Vin added. "We'll need Saxon to broadcast some of it, people have been jibber-jabberin' too long. Rumours need putting to rest and, well, folks always need good news, huh? Then there's some _orange-peels_ need reminding that 'procreation protocol' ain't mandatory nor Codex."

"Daaad. You told me off when I called Brotherhood soldiers 'orange-peels'!" Shaun pointed out. Technically, being an Initiate, he was one himself but he'd come up with the rhyming slang term for certain members who were 'absolute heels in orange jumpsuits.'

"Yeah, well, I outrank those bigoted bast..uh…meatheads. They can look forward to the Sentinel's lectures _after_ the wedding."

"Just to clarify," Preston added, "vows in private, well, among your guests or broadcast?"

"Your call, Cappy," said Vin to MacCready. So many friends had nicknamed them Bottle and Cappy after they'd dealt with the Nuka World raiders that it had stuck. Mac usually only resorted to calling Vin 'Bottle' when he was perilously drunk, though. Vin was less miserly about the use of _his_ diminutive.

“You know what I’m going to say – vows definitely _not_ broadcast.” Mac said firmly, it was going to be bad enough doing it in front of the invited guests without the added pressure of people listening in on the radio.

"As you wish, hero." They moved from the dining table to the sofa to enjoy drinks whilst the boys went outside with Dogmeat. Preston raised a glass. 

"This is what we were fighting for, my friends. Here's to a happy engagement, brief as it will be!"

Glasses chinked in unison, and Mac settled back into his seat. At times it had felt as if this day would never come, yet here he was, an engaged man. The love of his life was sat at his side, his sons were playing happily close by and he was surrounded by friends with smiling faces. He blinked to banish the tears that were threatening to flow. He looked round the room with a benevolent smile plastered on his face, and as he took Vin’s hand he squeezed it lightly.

Lu was grinning prettily at the pair of them, swilling her still-full glass, then looked over toward Preston. "Can I tell them, Angel?"

Preston's smile lit up the room. "Sure thing, Melonbloom!"

Lucy Abernathy leaned forward, keeping her voice low.

"We're expecting!"

“Ahw, congratulations you two!” Mac got out of his chair to give Lucy a big hug. “When’s it due?”

" 'Bout summertime, mama says, Lu replied, looking at Preston with absolute adoration. He added, "We're going to take things one at a time. Lu isn't in a rush to think about anything but the baby."

"Besides finding out what these two dreamboats want for their wedding!" she added.

Vin chuckled. "We've hardly had time to think on it…we'll let you know. Unless you have an idea, Bun?" he asked, letting the nickname slip.

“Hmm, not really, it’s not something I’ve thought about.” Mac suddenly felt shy, as much as he loved caps and nice things, he didn’t want for anything in particular and knew that Lu and Preston would need all their money for when the baby arrived.

Preston and Lu soon made goodbyes and hugged both men sincerely. The house was suddenly quiet.

Vin put an arm around Mac and snuggled into the lean sniper. "I've been thinkin' about our surnames. I can't take 'MacCready' away from you an leave you with Robert Joseph now, can I. Likewise I'd feel weird bein' called MacCready 'cause that's you…an I'm kinda attached to Hudson. Don't have much else of my Pop's left to me…

“How about MacCready-Hudson, or Hudson-MacCready? Could be a bit of a mouthful but at least no one gets left out?” Mac suggested. “Which one sounds best? I mean I don’t care if I’m the first or the last name, but which one do ya think scans the best?”

"There's a thought," Vin muttered, stroking his ginger biker's moustache. "How about we add each-others' names to the end of our own? Like me an' Shaun would be Hudson-MacCready an' you an Dunc would be MacCready-Hudson. So…how about it?"

“Sure, that could work! And the best part is, it will keep people in a state of perpetual confusion.” Mac let rip with an infectious laugh.

Vin couldn't help the deep belly-laugh that followed. He rolled over to catch Mac in a passionate kiss before either of them had really caught their breath.

**December 26th**

A provisioner knocked on the door. These days, some provisioners had taken on the additional role of posties. Vin had remembered his own father donning a Postman's uniform for the first time when he left the army. It was the only job he could get, despite his field medic skills; still, Michael Hudson took pride in his job and impressed upon his son how important an efficient messaging network was to any civilised country. Vin had made sure to implement that between settlements, in memory of his Pop.

The message was from Hancock. In neat but somewhat showy handwriting, it read:

_Dearest Mac 'n' Cheesy-grin_ ,  
(Vin rolled his eyes. Typical Hancock)  
_I hear bachelor parties are in order. Two separate ones or just the one visit to boozeville? New Years Eve, right after midnight, Third Rail. Dugout too if you wanna get jazzed apart. On me, fellas,_

__

__

_Love ya lots,  
~H._

Vin showed the letter to MacCready.

MacCready rolled his eyes, ‘Any excuse for a party with Hancock, isn’t it? Oh I don’t know I was hoping for a nice quiet little wedding without any hoopla. I guess that was too much to ask…” 

An evening of drunken shenanigans didn’t sound particularly appealing – he was up to his eyeballs in wedding planning and wasn’t sure if he could spare the time required for partying Hancock style. “If we are gonna do it at least let’s do it together, that way we can make sure neither of us ends up chained naked to a lamppost.”

MacCready hadn’t forgotten some of the previous Goodneighbor bachelor parties where he’d enjoyed _not_ being on the receiving end of pranks directed at the groom.

Vin nodded in agreement. "Well, we could go along for a New Years' bash…unless you'd really rather see 2294 in somewhere else? Don't let partyboy push you into anything, you know how he can be. Honestly Mac, this is about making _you_ happy, love. What is it you want, honestly?"

“If we can find a babysitter, I suppose we could go for a nice, civilized New Year’s Eve party. Or even better, let’s host one at Sanctuary! Make it a family affair, not a chem fuelled binge. I might have been up for that a few years ago, but now I could do without it. What do you think, Vin? Have a nice civilised party in the Flags?” Mac waited, hoping that Vin wouldn’t think he was being a party pooper.

"I think that idea is perfect, Mac. I also think that that my _boy_ friend has matured into an amazing man." Vin smiled at his fiancé, wrapping his large arms around him. "New Year's at home it is. We'll invite the _Brigadier-General_ to the ceremony at the Castle, where he _will_ behave himself."

Vincent brought a hand to Mac's square jaw to lift his face for a gentle kiss. "How about the wedding itself, Bun? Any ideas?"

“Well, I’ve managed to induce Pastor Clements to perform the ceremony at the Castle rather than at his mission in Diamond City- it’s amazing what a sizeable donation can achieve!"  
Vin raised his eyebrows at the thought of Mac parting with 'sizeable' amounts of caps but decided against asking how much. "I think we should keep it lowkey, no over the top ostentatious displays. After all, it’s not the day itself that matters it’s what follows after it that’s important.” Mac paused for breath, before continuing, “So, the guests will all be seated in the Castle bailey, weather permitting. I’m going to get a few shelters erected just in case, with plenty of braziers for warmth. The Pastor will wait at the front, and one of us will enter from one side of the Bailey, then simultaneously the other one of us will enter from the other side. Then the Pastor will conduct the ceremony. After that it’s buffet and drinks time. What do you think?” MacCready sincerely hoped that Vin would approve, as he’d already been liaising with his colleagues at the Castle to start the preparations.

Vincent's smile spread slowly across his face, his green eyes sparkling. His pale red-head complexion, though tanned and weather-worn, had no chance of containing the blush that followed.

"Pissah," he exclaimed, his inner Bostonian breaking free. "This is really happenin', ain't it?"  
Mac noticed Vin start to shake a little on his right side.

“’Fraid so,” Mac took Vin’s hand, “And it’s all going to be fine. If there’s one thing that we know how to do, it’s how to run things like a military operation! I suppose I should thank you, because all that training you made me undgergo has enabled me to plan this whole thing properly!” He hoped that his weak joke would calm Vin’s anxiety, which although well hidden to the casual observer was as apparent to Mac as a full page advert in the Publick.

"Right, right. Military operation. Copy that." Vin's tension eased slightly, "Saxon can do a brief commentary from a distance. I remember enough about watching celebrity weddings on TV to know what to put in an' what to leave out. Nora used to love it when her favourite actors and singers got married. She'd want to know what they wore, what songs they played, what they ate…personally it always felt a bit intrusive to me so I'll get him to keep it brief. Ahhh…much as I hate to suggest it, we'd better get Piper's advice too. 

“Yes, let’s invite her to the party and we can pick her brains whilst she’s there, that’s if she even shows, she’s been acting a bit weird recently."

"That's a great idea, Mac, if she shows," Vin agreed.

"Oh well, never mind, it’s not like there’s been a precedent set of so-called celebrity weddings in the Commonwealth anyway. I’m sure they’ll be happy with whatever Saxon broadcasts. Are you sure that’s what they used to do in the old days? Have weddings on TV? Seems strange to me.” Mac couldn’t imagine a world where the private lives of celebrities would be broadcast on TV.

Vincent's mind was racing ahead. "Okay, so how about _after_? I know you don't like talking about the world before but…this is bringing a lot of memories up for me. Nor…uh..people used to go on honeymoons after they got married. Do you even know what one is?" Vin queried, looking a little sad. "And yes, people really watched that sh..those shows. Constantly."

“Yeah, I’ve heard of honeymoons. What say we take a little jaunt around Europe?” Mac replied with a cheeky grin, knowing full well that whilst this was commonplace in the old world it was an impossibility now. “Seriously though, a few days somewhere nice ‘n’ quiet without the kiddos will do for me.”

Vincent reached back for one of the eggshell-blue barstools by the counter and sat, eyes downcast. After a moment, he spoke, quietly. "Nor and I went to Europe. All the way to Paris for three nights, back to the U.S. for a weekend in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, then home to our brand new house in Sanctuary Hills, Massachusetts." He half-smiled. "Where the hell can we go these days?"

“I’m sorry I reminded you, it was a stupid joke. How about a jaunt to Graygarden?” Mac saw Vin’s surprised reaction and felt the need to elaborate, “Hear me out, Vin, it’s quiet, the bots won’t bother us and no one would expect us to be there. I mean what are the other options? Far Harbor? In January? Forget it! Freezing fog, sea food and nosey locals. Nuka World? Nah, it’s too busy there now, plus of course, the bad memories.” Graygarden was the best that Mac could come up with, and it certainly couldn’t compare to a trip to Europe.

"Actually…I haven't been up to the Bus Stop in years. Remember, that bus on the bridge I put a stove in? It has all the basics. Good view, plenty o' provisions…yeah. Yeah that could work. A couple days without anyone shouting our names…except each other," Vin added with a sly grin. " And hey, never apologise for reminding me. So much does, anyway…but I actually appreciated remembering that. Did…" he gave Mac his "are- you-going-to-berate-me puppydog eyes expression, "did you and Lucy have a wedding, a honeymoon even?"

Mac gave a small humourless laugh, “No, they weren’t big on legal ceremonies in the Capital Wasteland, we just made vows on our own in front of an old statue, and that was enough for us. As for a honeymoon? Nah, it was all new and exciting back then, just being away from Little Lamplight was a novelty, and we weren’t exactly swimmin’ in caps either.”

Vin just stood and enveloped MacCready in a huge, gentle hug.

* * *  
**December 28th**  
Valentine made an appearance midmorning. He had a stack of papers tied up in string, dangling from his metal-framed fingers. Mac and Vin were by the porch, drinking weak beer at the white garden table, on which he dumped the parcel.

'Well good mornin', fellas." Valentine's eyes actually glowed a little brighter seeing his partner and friend so happy together. "Piper has me playin' paperboy now. Here, fresh off the press." He pulled the bow undone with flair and opened the paper for them to see. A half-page headline and a modest box of text within announced the date and location of the wedding, in addition to making it clear that it was an invite-only event.  
Piper had also, Vin noticed with a glow of pride and appreciation, written an article entitled 'The Right to Relationships', covering not only an intelligent argument against the Brotherhood's 'male and female only Pairing for Procreation' stance but also outlining mostly anonymous examples of non-conventional couples (and one triple) who had come forward to tell their love stories, inspired by Vin and Mac's recent Diamond City radio announcement. She had not, possibly with deliberate tact, included any Genthree relationships. Vin made a mental note to approach her about tackling _that_ issue after he'd managed to have an indepth conversation with Maxson. Steel didn't bend easily. He retrieved a notepad and pencil from inside his Atom Cats jacket and made some notes.

"Hey Valentine, you got decent handwriting, partner. Mind if I make use of it? We have invites to write. Man, I'm actually missing the camp office printer…"

"Sure, sure. I found a working printer last year, y'know. No ink cartridges left in the whole Commonwealth, mind. They've all long dried up."

"Like your wit," Vin joked. Valentine raised one thin eyebrow and his amber gaze dimmed. "Dry wit! You have dry wit, man," Vin defended himself.

"Hmm. Guess I shouldn't be surprised Robert's rubbing off on you," drawled Nick, just a flicker of spark in his eyes revealing the double-entendre.

Hudson chuckled. "Hey _Robert_ , he called, knowing how much Mac hated his first name and also knowing that Valentine had no idea. Mac wandered back outside, holding three mugs and a luxury coffeepot. Vin cleared his throat and read from his notes:

" _'You are cordially invited to the Wedding of Sentinel-General Vincent Nathaniel Hudson and Paladin-Major Robert Joseph MacCready on January 11th, 2294  
Please arrive at The Castle for noon, formal dress / uniform.' _" He looked up as Duncan appeared, waving hello to Valentine.

"How's that, hero? Help us write these out? I coulda technically added 'Detective Captain' to my title but our monikers are long enough as is."  
Duncan leaned over his Pop's shoulder. 

"You forgot "Eagle-Eye Sniper Mungo on Dad's!" giggled the ten year old, dodging a poking finger from MacCready. 

“Like Vin-Pop said, these invites are gonna be long enough without any extra nonsense on ‘em. How many are there to write out?” He eyed the pile of paper and the long list of names with distaste.

"Ahh not counted yet but…Okay. I better add the New Years Bachelor invites too. I'm gonna keep it short or I'll get cramp! How's this:

_New Year's Eve / Bachelor Party, 10pm at The Two Flags, Sanctuary Hills, Invite Only_?"

“Should we even mention Bachelor Party…? It creates _certain expectations_ , ones that I don’t want to live up to!” Mac was petrified that Hancock was going to try and take over the event, and turn it into the very thing he so wanted to avoid.

Vincent read his mind. "First off, John'll be tied up at Goodneighbor. He ain't gettin' invited to Sanctuary Hills. Wouldn't come anyway as certain folk here can't abide him. Ok, here's the party invite list: Preston and Lu, Sturges, Piper, Aunt Libby if Daisy knows where she is," Vin paused to look at Nick, "yourself, of course ya old gumshoe," grinned Vin, "Dan an' Rhys; Marcy already volunteered to babysit. An' I'd like to let Shaun come. He is sixteen, after all. I know Dunc won't be too happy but maybe he can come drink Nuka for a half-hour first?"

“Better Hancock’s tied up in Goodneighbor than tying us up here!” MacCready laughed at his own joke but felt a little pang that John Hancock had ruled himself out with his own overexuberance. Hancock was one of his oldest friends in the Commonwealth and it gave Mac no joy to have to exclude him from the party. The only compensation was that he’d be at the wedding, and he wouldn’t hold a grudge beyond a bit of light-hearted banter directed at himself and Vin. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand, of course Shaun can come along, it wouldn’t be the same without him! As for Dunc, you can be sure that half an hour will stretch and stretch until Marcy drags him out!”

That made the boy's Pop chuckle. "Then I'll make sure Marcy stays for the first half-hour too, she won't let him drag it out. Jun, however, will be more than happy to drink all night."

Vin scribbled a quick note to attach to Hancock's wedding invitation and sealed the envelope before anyone else could read it. The other potential troublemaker, Cait, would be present at the Castle anyway and under Ronnie Shaw's hawklike watch.

"I promised Arthur an invite to the wedding. Wish we could have Dan there too. As for Ingram…that's your call, Mac. Don't wanna make you uncomfortable." 

“It would make me more uncomfortable if she wasn’t there. I’ve been kind of petty in the past, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve got nothing to worry about in that quarter. Definitely invite her, it’s not fair she should miss out because of something that happened so long ago.” Mac felt he’d mangled what he was trying to say, but coming straight out and saying that he’d won would have been crass and his better self managed to prevent him from any unbecoming smugness.

"Thankyou, Mac." Vin smiled warmly and kissed him on the cheek. "That means alot. Now…did I forget anyone? Feel like I forgot someone."

"Travis? Everyone always forgets poor old Travis stuck in that radio station on his own most of the day." Mac wracked his brain for anyone else that they’d forgotten. "Oh, yeah how could I forget! Curie! Did you invite her yet?"

" _Mon dieu_ , Curie'd rant at us in French for a week if we forgot. Nice save, lover."

"And what about dear old Codswallop, can he come or will he stay back in Sanctuary looking after the place?"

Vin let out a hearty guffaw. "I don't think I could keep the old threeball away from preparing the wedding buffet if I reprogrammed him! But yeah, I'll make it clear. As for Travis, absolutely. To our Sanctuary Hills party and the ceremony?"

“Yeah, invite Travis to both, poor guy doesn’t seem to catch many breaks, and he’s been there for me when I needed him. Of course, whether he’ll actually leave Diamond City or not is another matter… but invite him anyway."

Nick Valentine was quietly scribbling away and suddenly held up his cup. "Ran outta 'motor oil', Mac. Any chance of a refill?"

“Sure thing, Nick.” Mac grabbed the cup and headed into Sturges’ workshop to scrounge oil.

**"MacCready!"** shouted Valentine. "I meant actual coffee, you dumbass! Fluid, heat and some goddam taste!"

“Well, why didn’t you say so? It’s not unreasonable is it?” Mac turned to a highly amused Vin. “He asks for oil… he’s a synth… c’mon!”

Mac disappeared into the kitchen, still clutching the cup, the laughter of Vin and Nick ringing in his ears. He mumbled to himself as he prepared the coffee. A few moments later he plonked the hot coffee in front of Nick Valentine. “There you go. Next time you want coffee ask for it!”

Vin just held up his hands and shook his head. He wasn't about to get involved, having lost count of the times Mac had asked why Nick drank up the precious whiskey and smoked away so many cigarettes when they didn't make the things anymore. It didn't matter that Valentine had explained that he still tasted, smelled and felt things and that actually, he still felt chemical effects from certain things.

Eventually the invitations were written (mostly in Nick's beautiful script) and Valentine offered to stop by Goodneighbor, deliver Hancock's letter and track down Olivia Zander on his way back to the Great Green Jewel.

As he strode off toward the bridge, he called over his shoulder, "You two should look for some fancy gladrags to get hitched in, huh? You'd look sharp in suits, fellas."

* * *  
**December 31st**

"But I'm not tiiired!" a girl's voice cried. Mac heard it from the other end of the street and decided to wander over. His little sister Bobbie probably just wanted to join in with the party and he bet Marcy was trying to force her into bed again. Big brother to the rescue.

“Ahw c’mon Marcy. You don’t want to leave Bobbie home alone do you? If you’re coming along with Duncan then you may as well bring Bobbie too, it’s New Years Eve after all!” Mac looked to Jun for support.  
“Go on Marcy, where’s the harm? You’ll be bringing Duncan anyway so who’d be looking after Bobbie?” Jun hoped that he hadn’t been nominated.  
Marcy rolled her eyes, “Oh go on then, I was going to ask you wait here Jun, until I got back with Duncan but this way I guess we can all go along together.”

Shaun was hogging the bathroom, trying to get his hair into something like a pompadour only without cutting it as he wore it in a ronin bun usually. Eventually, after half an hour and three caps in the swear jar (" 'motherdick'? Seriously Shaun, where did that one come from?" "You, Dad!" "Oh…") Vincent evicted his son and sent him to see Sturges, the one man in Sanctuary who knew how to properly use pomade.

Vin washed, pausing at the small scars on his chest. He'd had no new scars for years, thanks to practice, better armour and the best sniper in the Commonwealth watching his back…and his right. He wondered if he should tell MacCready just how bad his damaged hearing had got in that ear. 

He'd been in the battle of Anchorage. January 10th, 2077. The 108, 2nd battalion pressed forward. Staff Sergeant Vincent 'Nate' Hudson led the remains of his platoon to cover, just avoiding another pocket of mines. His T-51 helmet sensor suddenly beeped a warning.

"Take cover!" he'd yelled, as the rocket exploded on the concrete wall next to them and broken rebar and rubble hurtled toward them. J.J. went down, as did Fischer and Sparks. Nate caught a steel rod across the visor, narrowly missing his eyes beneath but making the helmet useless. He released the catch, tossed it aside, checked for immediate danger then knelt by his fallen men. Sparks was alive and Nate applied a super-Stimpak but the man wouldn't be walking away from this. He tagged him for evac. Fischer was a messy pulp and J.J…. The stupid clutz who had been Nate's good friend for years, the one who had upset a broken barbecue into his face during his bachelor party, giving him a huge long scar down the left side, from the hairline almost to his mouth ; the guy he'd fancied without admitting it to himself in college…he, John-Jules, was gone.

Nate spotted the rocket launcher that Fischer had been toting and hefted it to his right shoulder. He swung round, saw the last enemy tank and fired that missile right up its turret. However, as the rocket launched, the unseen damaged exhaust pipe on the back of the launcher blew out into Nate's…Vin's…right ear, tearing a nick out of the top of it and blowing his eardrum out. The noise was so loud to his unprotected head that it caused the little bones in his left to be jiggled out of alignment and ruptured as well and suddenly, all he could hear was a high-pitched whine as the world around him dimmed.

By the time he awoke on a stretcher, the battle was won. His commanding officer, Welch, patched and bandaged, walked over to see him and said something through a grin that he couldn't hear. Nate saw the doc give the Master Sergeant a pad and pen. Welch wrote "You blew up their last tank. We won! Rest up, son."

Nora had visited him in the hospital. His left ear improved gradually so that if she spoke loudly right into it, he could make her words out. By the time he was discharged, his left ear was almost fully recovered with a good prognosis whilst his right had an eighty-percent permanent hearing loss. Vin struggled with the uncomfortable, ungainly hearing aid for two whole weeks, but the eleventh time the damn amplifier box fell off his belt and yanked the earpiece out by its plastic skin-toned wire, he took it to the garage and smashed it to bits with a hammer. 

Sometimes he wished he persevered with the contraption. Vin had asked Curie about a hearing aid once but all she could offer was risky, intrusive surgery. He'd adamantly declined. Well, he'd better make sure that MacCready stood on his left during the ceremony so he could hear every word that beautiful man said.

_Where has he got to, anyway?_ Vin thought. He emerged from the bathroom, pulled on a crisp, clean white T-shirt and grabbed his Atom Cats jacket. "MacCready?" he shouted.

Duncan appeared. "Hey Pop, he's just coming." The boy pointed down the road to where Mac was moseying along, lit by the streetlamps, carrying his five year old sister Roberta on his shoulders. Marcy was smiling and talking up to the littlest MacCready, (now Long). 

Codsworth shushed into view. "Sir, the preparatio ns are all set and the first visitors arriving. There is a ghoul lady asking for you." He turned away and mumbled to himself, "Oh, I wish we had cheese and cucumber, still. A party spread isn't complete without cheese and cucumber sandwiches. The things we lost…"

"Be right there, Codsworth. Hey, Mac! Did you get taller? Grow your hair?" This made Bobbie giggle.

"It's meee Vimpop!" Vin reached up to lift her off Mac's shoulders and throw her just once into the air. Her giggles increased.

"Now don't get her too excited, " Marcy scolded. Duncan bounded up, wearing a vault-tec party hat with the logo painted out. "Look what that ghoul lady gave me!" he said, handing one to Bobbie as well. 

They were almost at the Two Flags. Just by the door, a ghoul with a sandy wig, a scarf and slung sniper rifle stood, showing her invitation to Preston. Dogmeat was sniffing Nix's behind cautiously. She turned to see Vin, Mac, Duncan, Bobbie and Marcy approach. 

Libby flung her arms open wide and Vin stepped, grinning, into her embrace. Libby hugged him, extended an arm and beckoned Mac into the hug.

“Good to see you Aunt Libby, glad you could make it,” he said as he stepped into the hug.

Stepping into the Flags Mac was half expecting an ambush from Hancock, and he braced himself as he stepped over the threshold. Looking around the bar he was happy to see no sign of Hancock, just the benign smiles of Sturges, Preston and Lu.  
Codsworth hovered over to their group and was in full ‘mine Host’ mode. “Ah, Mr Hudson, Mr MacCready! The guests of honour. Please follow me to your reserved table.”  
Mac and Vin looked at each other and shrugged and let Codsworth take the lead. The table that he brought them to was lavishly decorated with a fancy tablecloth and sashes. There was a centrepiece on every table, twigs sprayed with some sort of metallic paint that glittered under the lights which had been coloured with sheets of a cellulose type material. “Codsworth, it looks fantastic in here!”  
“Thank you Mr MacCready, I’m glad it’s to your liking. Now let me get you a drink.” Codsworth did the rounds of the table, taking drink requests. Shaun requested a beer, and Vin pursed his lips disapprovingly. “Ah c’mon Huggy Bear, at least let him have one! It’s new year after all!” Vin concurred with a nod, and Codsworth zoomed off to the bar.

Vin tapped Codsworth on the monocular arm plate. "Any sign of Miss Wright?"

“Miss Wright has sent her apologies, Mr Hudson. She won’t be coming tonight.”  
“Did she say why?” MacCready asked, slightly concerned, it wasn’t like Piper to miss a party.  
“No, Mr MacCready, sir, she merely said that she was unavailable.”  
“Hmm, well I hope she’ll be available for the wedding!” Mac replied.  
A familiar figure in a trench coat approached. “Hi fellas, got some party gifts for you!” Nick Valentine placed a couple of immaculate packets of Grey Tortoise cigarettes in front of MacCready and three large cigars in front of Vin. The couple thanked Nick profusely and invited him to join them at their table.

Vin unwrapped one of the cigars and lit it, visibly relaxing as he slowly exhaled the sweet, woody smoke. "Good brand, Nick, where the heck did you scrounge these up from?"

"I have my sources…"

"Need a light, Mac?"

“I’m good thanks, I’ve got mine in my pocket,” Mac delved into his trouser pocket only to find the lighter missing. “Darn, I forgot to transfer it when I put my fancy clothes on, I’ll take that offer of a light please!”  
“No problem,” Vin proffered his lighter in Mac’s direction.  
“Hi everyone…” Travis shyly approached the table, obviously feeling uncomfortable so far from home.  
“He came up from Diamond City with me,” explained Nick, “Safer travelling together you see.” It was obvious to the assembled company that Nick was sparing Travis’ blushes, Nick had made the journey alone many times, and had obviously offered to escort the nervous DJ.

Vin stood up and shook Travis' hand. "Hey, man, so good to see you! Thanks for comin' all this way. Here, take a load off," said Vin, pulling out a chair at the adjascent empty table. 

“Thanks, Sent.. Vin.” Travis sat down and within seconds Codsworth hovered over and was taking his drink order.

"Excuse me gentlemen, may I join you?" said a raspy voice behind Mac.

Mac whipped around to see who the owner of the voice was as he didn’t recognise it at first. He was relieved to see that it was Aunt Libby, so he gestured to an empty chair, “Of course you can, take a seat!”

"Well, thankyou, handsomes! Oh, Vinnie, Maccie, Daisy asked me to give you these," Libby said.

“Maccie? What happened to Big Bossman! Call me Mac, RJ or anything, other than _Maccie_! So, what’s Daisy got for us then?” He waited expectantly as Aunt Libby fumbled in her bag.

Aunt Libby just laughed. "I don't know, it has quite a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Vinnie?"

"Yeah..um..Aunt Libby, I don't go by 'Vinnie' anymore either. Just Mac an' Vin is fine. Or Big Bossman and Biggest Bossman," he said, grinning cheekily at Mac just as Codsworth arrived with the drinks.

Aunt Libby dived back into her bag and brought out a cloth bundle. She spilled the contents on the table. “There you go boys, pick one if you like!” Mac leaned in to see what the mass of brightly coloured material was, and on closer inspection it was a collection of neckties. They were all in immaculate condition, unlike most of the clothes available. “Thought you might be able to use one of these for the wedding – go on, don’t be shy, pick one!”

Vin's hand shot into the pile. "Here, Mac, this has to be yours. Green is just your color!"

“Ah yes, and it matches your eyes perfectly!” Mac untangled the tie and held it up to Vin’s face, “Yes, it definitely does.” It was a bright vibrant green, with a pattern of four narrow silver coloured stripes at intervals of a few inches. “I love it, thanks Aunt Libby. Now what about you Vin?” Mac continued to delve into the pile and pulled out a tie that was the same as the one he had chosen for himself, but with the colours inverted, the tie was silver coloured, and the stripes were green. “How about this? It matches mine, but it’s not too obvious.” He held it up to Vin, “Yes, that’s a terrific colour for you, what do you think?

"Well, look at that. Perfect. Now all we need to do is find suits to match, I guess." They put away their gifts and took fingerfood from Codsworth's proffered tray.

"Oh hey, Shaun! Duncan! Over here!" Vin yelled suddenly. The boys wandered over. "Aunt Libby, we'd like to introduce you to our sons. The tall one here is my Shaun." 

The young man held his hand out and politely said "Good to meet you, ma'am."  
Libby shook it and said, "Likewise, young man," then aside to Vin, "He has her eyes, doesn't he?"  
Vincent smiled sadly and nodded.

“And this little squirt is my son,” Duncan bristled at being called a little squirt, but was curious to know who the nice ghoul lady was. “This is Aunt Libby, she knew me and your Pop a long time ago, what do you think about that?”  
“Hi,” Duncan said shyly, holding his hand out as he’d seen his big brother do. “What was my Dad like when he was young? Did he look like me?”

"Your Dad was brave and a good leader but he had a foul mouth! If you tied a jumper round your noggin and stuck a hard old army helmet on top, I figure you'd be almost the spit."

“Can I try that tomorrow Dad? Pop? Have you got any old army helmets I can use?” Dunc asked eagerly.  
Mac fell back on the parental standby, “We’ll see, son, we’ll see…”

Shaun joined Travis at his table and they started animatedly talking about music. Travis asked if the Brotherhood had collected any music holos but the young Initiate Scribe had to disappoint him. Shaun made a mental note to rescue any from the trash.

The bar door swooshed open. The Two Flags was built entirely from pre-fab Vault cubes, carried over from the stock at Vault 88 (now called Nora's Hope). It had two floors, the upper containing modest guest accomodation and the apartment belonging to Ron Staples, the barkeep. He was busy at the moment trying to get Duncan and Bobbie to choose which flavour Nuka Cola they liked best.

Diesel Dan strode in, followed by Rhys. They were newly wed themselves and came straight over to Vin and Mac, big smiles on their faces. Some of their ex-colleagues would hardly have recognised them. 

Vin stood up and embraced Dan, whilst Rhys, now a Minuteman, reached out to shake MacCready's hand.

"We're genuinely excited for you, brother. Marriage is the best decision I ever made, certainly." 

"We're both happier now its official," added Rhys "What took _you_ so long?"

Dan shot his husband a look. "Some decisions are a long time in the making, isn't that so, MacCready?" the former Paladin asked.

“Not for me!” MacCready looked pointedly at Vin, “Still I can understand why, I’m just glad we got there in the end. I can’t believe it’s less than two weeks to go until I’m married to this big ol’ Huggy Bear.” Mac pawed at Vin’s arm, evidently the drinks were starting to have an effect even this early in the evening.

"HEEYYY," shouted Vin, who obviously surprised himself with his own volume. His pitch switched to a stage-whisper, "no nicknames in public!"

Codsworth chivvied the two off to their table and caught Vin's shouted drinks order. 

Aunt Libby smiled to herself and pulled out a very old, worn envelope from her jacket. "Vincent. I've been carrying this around for so long that I think it's high time I let it go. I want you to have it, dear."

Vin was puzzled but took it and opened its cream, scalloped flap. Inside was a photograph, which he drew out very reverently. He hadn't any pictures from the past. Their albums had been lost to damp and mildew and rot, or chewed by goodness knew what. Suddenly he saw himself, much younger, just a Private in the army, with his arm around a similar looking man whose steel grey eyes could be seen behind glasses. He was wearing a Vault-Tec doctor's coat and his warm-brown hair was tied back in a ronin-bun. His hand shook a little as he showed MacCready, saying "Look, Mac, that was our Vonnie. Doctor Vaughn Zander. He was a good man."

Mac stared intently at the photograph, it was bizarre seeing the man he loved, who was beside him so alive and vibrant, in an ancient picture. The man beside Vin in the photo, Vonnie bore a familial resemblance to Vin. “We’ll find a good frame for that, it needs to go on display.”

Vin didn't take his eyes off the picture but squeezed Mac's hand in reply.

The next two guests to arrive were chatting animatedly as they walked in through the door.  
Vin drained his whiskey and stood up to welcome them. Mac didn't recognise the woman in the green dress for a moment, her warm brown wavy hair up in a bun. He almost spat his drink out when he realised that it was Tess Ingram and Amélie Curie.

"Nice pair of legs, doll," grinned Vincent.

“Steady on, Vin, you’re talking like Hancock!” Mac declared as he rushed to escort Ingram to a chair, which he pulled out for her. He desperately wanted to show there were no hard feelings, and this was manifesting itself as a display of courtly manners.  
“Please ladies, take a seat, can I get you anything?” He simpered just before Codsworth zoomed over.  
“Excuse me Mr MacCready, I will see to it the ladies have everything they need,” Codsworth declared in a tone that suggested MacCready had stepped on his metaphorical toes.

A table away, Sturges blurted, "Never had 'em pegged for a flit. Don't bother me none. Folks findin' happiness is rare enough these days, I don't care what you pair." Lu just shrugged and smiled.

Curie muttered something about wine and moved toward the bar, blushing.

Mac needed the bathroom, making his way past Sturges’ table he said quietly to the mechanic, “Seriously, are Ingram and Curie a couple?”  
Sturges looked a little confused for a moment, then looked over at the women and nodded, “Certainly seems like it.”  
“Well, as long as they’re both happy, and they certainly look like they are.” Curie had returned to the table and was talking intently to Ingram, their heads bowed confidentially. 

As Mac negotiated his way to the bathroom he checked his watch, and was shocked to see it was fast approaching ten o’clock. Once he had relieved himself, he headed to where Duncan, Bobbie and Marcy were sitting. Marcy was already trying to wrangle the kids, and she called upon Mac to back her up.  
“Do as Marcy says, Dunc, it’s waaaay past your and Bobbie’s bed time.” Duncan sighed expansively and Bobbie tried to ape him.  
“Right you two, it’s time for you to go home, you’ve already been here over an hour! You don’t want me to go and get Pop do you?”  
“Umm, no” Duncan whined as he reluctantly got out of his chair, and Bobbie followed suit.  
“Thanks Mac,” said Marcy as she took the kid’s hands, “Have fun, but please make sure Jun doesn’t have _too much_ fun.”  
Mac gave a faux salute to show he’d taken the message on board. He accompanied them as far as his table where they stopped to say goodnight to Vin. “Goodbye kids, see you next year!” Mac joked as they took their leave of the Flags.

“Hey Vin, what do you think to Curie and Ingram?” Mac said quietly so that only Vin could hear. “I didn’t see that coming, did you?”

Vin licked some creamy hors d'oevres filling of his thumb and said, "See what coming?"

“Curie and Ingram – it looks like they’re a couple now,” he gesticulated discreetly to the two tête-à-tête ladies.

Vin had switched to drinking ice cold Gwinnett Ale now and had just taken a swig as MacCready spoke, making him almost spit it out. He held his mouth shut though and only a dribble escaped forcibly down one side of his 'tache, which he didn't seem to notice. He swallowed and let out a hearty laugh. "Who the hell told you that?! Ingram and Curie? Bahah!"

“No, that great master of gossip, Sturges… I mean, it might not be true, haven’t heard it from the ladies themselves yet. I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna ask them…” Mac shrugged. At the end of the day, Curie’s and Ingram’s personal life wasn’t of that much interest to him.

Sturges appeared behind them and leaned on their shoulders. "Hey cats. Vin buddy, it's a small bar, man! Think longshot here got the wrong end o' the wrench." He patted Mac's shoulder. "I was talkin' 'bout _you_ dudes." He patted both men's shoulders and grinned, plonking a couple of fresh beers on the table.

Valentine, almost forgotten he was sitting so still, exhaled a smoke ring and added, "You maybe, Robert but Vin here sure took me by surprise. Think you better go mollify the broads."

“Mollify the broads? What in the name of Grognak does that mean? C’mon Nick we’ve been through this before!” Mac wasn’t quite sure what Nick was asking them to do, he had an idea what he meant, but after the coffee/oil incident he thought it was better to be clear.

"I mean, you love-addled dumbass, that I'd pegged you for swingin' both ways and that Curie an' Ingram are lookin' a mite put-out."

As they looked over, they saw that the two women were staring in their direction. Curie looked flustered and Ingram was giving Vin 'the eyebrow'. 

“C’mon Vin, let’s go and make small talk with the ladies,” without checking that his fiancé was following him MacCready sauntered the short distance to Ingram and Curie’s table and plonked himself down on an empty chair. “Are you enjoying the evening so far, ladies?” he asked them.

Curie uttered a tiny "Oui!" and sipped her red wine. Ingram looked up to where Vin was (slighty unsteadily) following Mac to a chair. 

"So," Tess began, "our ears are burning. What was so funny, _Vince_?" This use of his least favourite abbreviation flustered Vin. Mac noticed his moustache twitching and decided to come to the rescue.

“Oh it was me misinterpreting Nick Valentine’s pre-war jargon… they like to tease me about it” Mac tailed off, “So, are you here _together_ tonight? Not that it’s any of my business of course… “ Mac tailed off again.

Both women turned to look at each other and said "Oh no, no!" Tess elaborated. "We were just discussing medical engineering. Proctor Curie has some interesting ideas."

Curie added, "I am impressed with the _excellente_ modifications that Proctor Ingram made to the Gen two limbs!"

Ingram demurred, "It was Vin's idea, I just made 'em."

Vincent was staring at Ingram and Mac felt the need to knock him out of it.

He took Vin’s hand and squeezed it gently. “So, will both of you be coming to the wedding?” He asked pointedly.  
Before either could answer, Mac's fiancé  
mumbled, "You're wearin' a dress…"

Ingram laughed "Yeah, I lost a bet."

"Who to?"

"Arthur. Never let it be said he's an _utterly_ humourous bastard." She quirked an eyebrow and grinned.

“Maybe I should start wearing a dress,” Mac grumbled peevishly, feeling that Vin’s attention was too fixated on Ingram, and he could feel the bubbles of jealously he thought he had banished rising to the surface.

Vin suddenly picked up on what Mac was feeling and sobered a little. "Oh please no, hero. I like my manly man just as he is." He fussed at Mac's Tunnel Snakes jacket collar. "You're gonna be a total dreamboat in a suit," he smiled lovingly.

Mac grinned, quickly pacified now Vin’s attention was back on him, “Yeah, I am aren’t I? And so are you HB.”

"Oh, now that'll just get folk wonderin' what it stands for. Cut it out, handsome."

Preston had settled by Dan and Rhys, who were already talking shop. Lu was talking to Jun and Sturges was chatting to Nick, asking how the old synth was holding up (he'd had Sturges look at his stiff knees recently).

Ron Staples, the barkeep, turned the radio up as it approached midnight. Vin, now happy-drunk and still chugging them back started singing along badly. He grabbed Mac and pulled him up to dance. Tess Ingram leaned over to Shaun. "I knew the right person could get your Dad to strut," she said, smiling. The teen blushed and she playfully elbowed him in the ribs. "May I have this dance, Mr. Hudson junior?" Dancing with his boss wasn't Shaun's idea of a blast. He wished that the girl he'd met a few weeks ago, Kasumi, was here instead but he knew that Proctor Ingram probably hadn't danced in a very long time and he wanted to be sure that she didn't topple over.

Mac wasn’t exactly sober, but he wasn’t blind drunk either. He was feeling invincible as he led Vin onto the dance floor. It wasn’t long before he was flailing his limbs wildly and dragging Vin along for the ride. “I’ll show you how to cut a rug, Vin!” he proclaimed.  
“Watch it, Jackass,” a familiar voice sneered, and Mac’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape as Vin’s beer cascaded down Nick’s trench coat.

"Cool your jets, pal. Hey MacCready, I think we'd better cut Vincent off, don't you? 

* * *  
**January 3rd**

Duncan and four other nine to twelve year olds from nearby settlements were back in school and training in basic survival techniques with Preston. Shaun had gone back to his Scribe studies on the Prydwen.

Vin & Mac headed out toward Diamond City intending to visit Fallons to find something to go with the ties that Aunt Libby had kindly given them for the wedding. They were not really on duty but the two professionals never travelled the wasteland without their full gear.

Travelling southeast out of Sanctuary, they noticed lots of settlers clearing old junk off the roads and filling potholes with concrete, gravel and tar. Vin queried the work with a Provisioner who said that they were testing out how to rebuild the routes, to make it easier on Brahmins' hooves. Neither of them had heard any mention of this work previously but shrugged it off.

A while down the road, Vin's PIP-boy beeped and Mac's shoulder radio buzzed almost simultaneously. It was a request for backup, just east of Bunker Hill. 

“Well, that didn’t take long,” MacCready grumbled, “That’s miles out of our way, and we’ve got so much wedding prep left to do. _I knew this was going to happen_ , can’t those clowns take care of themselves? I bet this is going to happen on the big day too, just as I predicted.” The stress of the wedding preparations was making MacCready more prone to catastrophising.

"First, I hate clowns so don't call 'em that. Second, alot of these guys have trained with both of us an' if they're asking for back up it must be serious. Third, nothing and I mean _nothing_ will tear me away from marrying you, hero." He threw a little beguiling half-smile Mac's way before the game-face returned.

The mission report outlined a Rust Devils resurgence. Many Brotherhood forces were currently occupied in the southwest, at the edge of the Glowing Sea. Only a small squad, maybe three or four Minutemen with two power armoured Brotherhood knights, were pitted against the surprise attack by around a dozen Rust Devils at least matched in numbers by their robotic muscle. 

The two arrived quickly. They knew the Commonwealth like the backs of their hands now. The soldiers signed their recognition of the backup's arrival from some distance away and they took down one wave between them but not completely. Mac took out the eyebots that were guiding the larger machines. Vincent's gauss rifle took out a modified sentry bot from a long distance away. He checked his V.A.T.S. on the PIP-boy, which, as he showed Mac, was racking up yet more targets. He raised his gun sights and took a shot when suddenly…

"Motherdickin' fucknuke!" Vin suddenly shouted, lowering his scope. MacCready was instantly alert, raising his own scope in the direction that Vin's had been pointed.

"I don't see anything else, Vin," he said.

"We gotta get someplace safe, NOW," he commanded. He lifted his PIP-boy to his face, flicked it to the map screen and Mac saw him hold it and his head at all odd angles as though straining to see. Vin flicked it off again, huffing and looked around. "Over there," he pointed curtly with two fingers. "Move out."

“Yes, Sir!” Despite his earlier grumbles, Mac had easily switched back into soldier mode and followed Vin’s orders without question. “Any other troops available for back up, Sir?” he asked when they were more sheltered.

"They'll have to handle it," was the only explanation Mac got. 

The building near the waterfront was half crumbled away. Vin picked his way across the rubble, free hand outstretched, fingers splayed, his arm swaying, feeling for obstacles as if it weren't just past midday.

“What… what’s the matter, Vin?” Mac slipped back to using the more familiar name, something was badly amiss, “What happened back there?”

Vin didn't answer immediately. He reached the wooden door and opened it into a collapsed office space, heading straight down the warped and sloping floor to a metal door. Reaching into his pack for a leather card wallet, he flicked through the collection several times until he found the one he was after and swiped it.  
The door opened into a tunnel. They followed this into a chamber. Vin unlocked another door into a caged room with a workbench and slumped onto the hard, stony floor.

"This'll do," he said quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What the hell is going on Vin? This isn’t some sort of prank is it? Hancock’s not gonna come dancing around the corner?” Mac was babbling because he was confused and scared. “Did we even take care of all those Rust Devils, what about the others that were still fighting them up there? What if they can’t cope?”

"They have to cope. Migraine aura. I can't see to shoot, Mac. Pain's gonna hit soon. Gimme a coupla Med-X, willya?"

“Two? For a migraine aura? Are you sure, Vin?” Mac took the chems out of his backpack reluctantly.

"Wan' me to hurl on your boots? Damn. Haaaven't had one this bab in agezzz," Vin slurred. His speech was being affected now and his tremor was back. "Gmmme the damn Med-X, man!"

Mac did so reluctantly, though he wouldn't let Vin inject himself. He applied them where his superior officer directed. After a moment, Vin seemed to relax and when he spoke it was no longer garbled, just the slow, drawn out speech of a very tired soldier.

"Go down there, walk on the pipes, see what you can scav. We're stuck here at least a couple hours, gotta wait til I can see." 

“Ok, I’ll leave you in peace for a while,” Mac gave Vin a very gentle kiss on the cheek, knowing how sensitive his body would be feeling to any touch. He had witnessed Vin’s migraines before and knew how bad they could be.

"Consider this an order, Paladin-Major. Down there you'll find a stove, at least. Get us somethin' hot to drink, blankets, whatever else you can scav up. I can't move 'til this has passed, I'm a liability. No-one's gonna find us here."

“Do you know where we are then?” Mac knew the Commonwealth like the back of his hand, but he had no recollection of this place.

"You're a perceptive guy. Just look around," Vin mumbled, tugging his military cap down to cover his eyes.

MacCready moved off down the sewer tunnel, passing a small wooden boat with a skeletal passenger coveting a blue cooler and… white chalk marks on the wall.

“Dang, of all the places in the Commonwealth, we had to end up here,” Mac had finally recognised the old Railroad HQ. He carried on scavenging, now he recognised where they were, he was able to swiftly obtain all the required items. Poor Vin must have been absolutely desperate to seek sanctuary here. With this in mind, Mac slowly made his way back to the entrance of the tunnel where Vin still sat motionless.  
“I found all the stuff,” Mac said as he placed it gently on the ground. He came and sat close to Vin. “I’m so sorry that you were forced to come back here. Really not the place to recuperate, though.

"Not ideal, no but neither is bein' blindsided by a raiderbot." His breathing was getting heavier, quicker…too quick. His tremor was making his rifle rattle against his side and Mac could see him sweating even though it was freezing down here.

“Here, take this,” Mac fussed around Vin with a blanket that he had found, tucking it around Vin’s stiff and unobliging legs. “There we are, nice and cosy.” He paused and rummaged in his finds, “Anything I can get you sir? Nice cup of tea? Certainly not a beer, I don’t want a Valentine shower! Still, at least he was wearing a raincoat, certainly got to find out if it was waterproof on New Years Eve...” Mac was rambling but hoping that his silly chatter would distract and sooth Vin.

Vin winced, at the memory as much as at the pain in his head. He'd had quite the hangover on New Years' Day but they'd had the house to themselves that morning and made full use of it, after a fried breakfast. That particular memory gave Vin an idea.

"You know what helps cure migraines?"

“Do I look like a doctor? No, I don’t know what helps cure migraines!” Mac was still trying to be jolly and distracting.

"Well it ain't like I haven't asked this of you before when I've been down…Shit. Just….Jerk me off." 

“Ahw, and they say romance is dead. And shouldn’t there be a ‘please’ somewhere in there? Or is it an order, Sir?” Mac couldn’t think of a less erotic scenario than the one that they were in.

Vin's chin sank to his chest and he said, in a very small voice, "Please, Mac.…Call it medicinal masterbation. I need distraction… I can't be here, Mac…but I can't move either… shit. Fuck. I'm trapped. Can't breathe, Mac. It's freezin'…  
Vin's eyes widened in terror at the tumult of memories that cascaded down upon him but before they could swallow him whole, his hero was there. 

Mac put his arms round Vin, and made calming noises, “It’s all going to be OK, just try and relax a bit. Breathe with me,” Mac started taking deep slow breaths, encouraging Vin to do the same. “There we are, that’s a little bit better isn’t it?” Mac then started to remind Vin of some of their erotic exploits to try and set the mood, a difficult task given the circumstances. He whispered memories of their past encounters in Vin’s left ear, and amazingly Vin started to rise to the occasion. He gently eased Vin’s trousers and briefs down and set about his task with soldierly efficiency. He was surprised that Vin could even obtain an erection given the circumstances. “Thank you for standing to attention, soldier!” he commented, trying to introduce some much needed humour into the proceedings. “Makes my job easier…”

Vin was not in any mood to laugh. The aura still clouded much of his vision and the Med-X was already wearing off. His body was a little too used to the stuff now. The pain rumbled like a storm in the glowing sea but feeling his lover's warmth and the pulsing rhythm of his hand on his shaft took him into a very private, emotionally protected space. He could focus on nothing else, thankfully.

"Mac, love…oh…you…you save me every time hero…oh!" 

Mac was lifted up on Vincent's rising chest as he came quickly and drew a great breath. "Can I just sleep, now?"

“Of course, not like I have a choice anyway is it?” Vin was already dozing before Mac had even made his reply. Mac was pleased that Vin seemed to have passed the worst of the migraine. He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible, snuggling into Vin’s recumbent form as best as he could. He was feeling wide awake so he whiled away the time with a pack of cards that he kept in his backpack, playing solitaire in the small circle of light thrown by Vin’s Pipboy.

* * *

**January 4th**  
They finally arrived at Diamond City just after midnight. Mac looked over at his beloved's haggard, scarred face. Vin still looked pale, brittle, even. The man was held together with sheer willpower and seeing this tall, solidly-built guy brought low by the past - yet again - made MacCready's heart ache. 

“C’mon Vin, let’s get to Homeplate and I’ll get us some food.” Mac lead Vin to the entrance of Homeplate and guided him in. “Sit down, relax. Now, what would you like? A drink? Some food?” Mac doubted if Vin was feeling hungry, but he could feel his own stomach rumbling.

"Yeah, both. No alcohol though. Just water.…tea, maybe. Nuka'd set it off again. Thanks, Mac."

Vin carefully set his bulk onto the sofa and began slowly undoing his armour. "Are you okay, Bun?"

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m just happy to be able to help you.” He walked into the kitchen area and started rummaging through the cupboards. “One MacCready special coming up!”

Vin chuckled. A 'MacCready Special' usually meant an unlikely mix of packaged food. "You're not makin' Fancy Instamash Cake again, are ya?"

“Just have to wait and see!” There wasn’t much doing in the cupboards, but Mac managed to bodge together some Cram and Instamash. A classic combination and hopefully not too provocative if Vin was still nauseous.  
“There we are!” He put the plate in front of Vin with a flourish. “Should fill you up at least.”

"Ahh, perfect." He dug a fork in and around the mouthful, said, "For the record, honeyBun, I always worry about you. I don't half drag you into some behemoth-sized shit." He sighed, swallowed and added, "I'm real sorry ' bout that episode back there, Mac."

“Don’t mention it. If the boot had been on the other foot – actually that’s probably the wrong metaphor to use where I’m concerned- anyway you know what I mean. You’d have been there for me, so let me be there for you! Let’s both get a decent night’s sleep so that we can be at Fallon’s when they open.” Now that his hunger and thirst had been attended to Mac was starting to feel exhausted. It had been a strange and trying day.

They slept after their midnight feast and when they woke, Vin did not feel ready to face the world just yet. "We can go see Becki Fallon tomorrow. I'm not budgin'."

They did nothing else but rest that day. MacCready insisted on cooking, even though that meant food shopping, not his favourite activity.

Mac strode into the market square before most of Diamond City was awake. He preferred the relative calm of early morning to the hustle and bustle of midday. A brightly coloured poster caught his eye – it was an advert for The Colonial Taphouse. ‘Under New Management!’ it proclaimed. In smaller print it detailed that they were serving ‘gourmet food – to eat in or takeaway’. Mac made a mental note to pop up there later in the day when they were open and order something for dinner that night. That would definitely be better than anything that he could cook.

Passing Diamond City Surplus, Myrna called out.

"Hey Major MacCready!" No longer being able to gripe about Synths, Myrna redirected her distrust toward the Brotherhood, even though she would happily sell to them, her rates always went up with few exceptions. "How's my annoying sister Marcy and her no-good husband these days? They treating your little sister right? I still can't believe they adopted her. Marcy's getting too old for all that trouble."

“They are doing very well, fantastically well in fact and Marcy and Jun couldn’t be doing a better job with Bobbie. I never thought of Marcy as old, I always took you to be the older sister, Myrna, by a good margin too.” Mac grinned at Myrna’s sour expression, then turned and headed back to Homeplate.

"Well, you need any supplies for the big day, better let me know soon," Marcy shouted after him abruptly.

Mac arrived at the red Homeplate door, the one that led straight to their kitchen-diner, balancing two beautiful plastic-ceramic bowls of powernoodles on his arm to get at his keys. Vin must have heard him because the door opened and there he was, a tired, goofy grin propping up his prospector-style whiskers.


	4. Changing Callsigns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations for the wedding are nearing completion when the past catches up with both MacCready and Vincent.

**January 5th**

The two lovers slept tangled in each other. Mac awoke, a little squashed under Vin's large frame, his shoulder pinning MacCready's own, one muscular arm draped over his torso and thigh. Vin was still softly snoring.

“Wakey wakey Huggy Bear! Big day today. It’s the day before the big day, and there’s still a lot to do. No time for lolling around in bed.” Mac squirmed from under Vin’s arm as he jumped out of bed.

The big goof emitted a low grumble and pulled the sheet back over his head. When Vin didn't want to get up, he needed serious cajoling.

“C’mon Vin, you better not be like this on the eleventh, when I won’t be there to do _this!_ ” said Mac as he grabbed the corner of the sheet and pulled it forcefully, leaving Vin without a cover.

"HEY! Hey…what do you mean you won't be there? You goin' all traditional on me Mac? Oh..I just had a nifty illumination, man…" Mac was often equally amused and puzzled when Vin slipped back into the greaser slang he'd used in his youth.

“I just think it’s a good tradition to maintain, old daddio,” Mac chuckled at his corruption of Vin’s slang. “Create a bit of mystery, make the day more special. What do you think?”

"What I _think_ is that you'll never call me 'Old' Daddy-O again." Vin's grouchy face made Mac want to snigger. "You might be safe with 'Big Daddy-O', though," he smirked. 

“We’ll see… I’ll decide on a Daddy-O by Daddy-O basis." Vin chuckled at that. "But what about the Wedding eve? Should we spend the night separately?” Mac was eager to know what Vin thought about his idea, which up until now he’d assumed was a given.

"Tell you what, Zeke an' the gang'll put me up overnight. You sleep at the Castle. Also…you never asked about my idea…"

“So, what’s your idea Vin? I didn’t even realise that you’d had one… “ It was probably somewhere in the jargon that Vin had used earlier Mac was guessing.

"Told you I'd had an illumination! Y'know, like a bright idea? I'm too cool for you, Cappy," Vin teased. He kissed him quickly on the lips and backed off before Mac could retaliate. He'd have to work to find out what Vin had in mind.

“It’s not a bright idea if you don’t share it… !” Mac retaliated.

"Okay," Vincent chuckled, "so there's two special people I'd like to..um..give us away. Nick for me and Aunt Libby for you…what do you think? Reckon they'd do it?"

“That’s a great idea. I’m certain that they’d do it. Now are you going to get up or do I have to drag you out?” Mac grabbled Vin’s foot playfully.

Vin's arm shot out and pulled Mac back onto the bed, grinning. "In a minute. I figured they were the closest we got to family, huh? It'd be kinda symbolic, too, showin' our support of the ghoul an' synth population. It just feels right."

After a quick, light breakfast, the two made their way down to Fallon's basement. Becky admitted them but left the Closed sign on the door for privacy.

"Welcome, gentlemen! I hear wedding dress is in order?"

“Well, if you can find a nice white one that’ll fit him it’ll be a miracle! Shouldn’t be a problem for me though.”

"Well, each to their own, dear but I rather see you both in suits. Hmm..let me get my tape measure."

Vin had been measured for suits before, for his prom night, his dress uniform and first wedding tuxedo but it was a new experience for MacCready. Stripped down to their vests and underpants, Becky worked quickly encircling body parts with the tape and scribbling notes. 

She disappeared behind some furniture and reappeared with several suits, all in excellent condition for being two centuries old.

"Tuxedos?" she offered.

"No, no black thanks Becky," Vincent said. He'd got all dolled up in a tux for Nora. Catching sight of Mac's nervous grin, that memory tactfully faded.

“I’ve got these ties I’d like to match, if possible, Becky,” Mac brought them out of his backpack and held them up to the suits that Becky had brought out. There was a blue suit on the top of Vin’s pile, “Hey, this looks like a good match, try it on Vin!”  
He took his own tie over to the other pile. “I’m not sure which one I like here. Maybe I should try a couple on?” He suggested.

Becky nodded and Mac selected the first suit from the top of the pile.

The two men stepped out from behind the changing curtain, Vin in the blue and Mac in a greyish coloured suit that on closer inspection was actually patterned in black and white.

"Well, I'll have to let out the breast and arms on yours, Mr. Hudson. Wouldn't want you to rip a seam on the big day. As for your suit, Mr. MacCready, I rarely see such a perfect fit. However, that color is simply not you, sir. Try this one instead, same sizing." 

It did indeed fit Mac well, but had a rather jaunty houndstooth pattern on it. It looked OK from a distance, but up close it tended to make the eyes goggle. “Umm, yeah I don’t’ think so, either," Mac said swiftly devesting and putting on the next suit in the pile. This one was a light buff colour and hadn’t looked like much when it was on the pile, however, upon examining himself in the mirror, Mac had to admit that it looked perfect. “What do you think?” He looked to both Becky and Vin for their opinions.

"Tan…I like it. Smart, complements your hair.." Vin cooed.

Becky nodded approvingly. "You should wear formal attire more often, Paladin-Major, sir."

“Umm, don’t think so, unless I open a saving and loan company, I’ll stick to what’s comfortable!” MacCready couldn’t conceive of wearing this get up for anything other than the most formal of occasions.

"Well you have claimed to be the _Commonwealth Savings Bank of MacCready_ on multiple occassions! Actually, if you ever lay that gun down, I can see you doin' that, maybe with MacCready jr." his fiancé quipped.

"I'll have the alterations done for you by this evening," Becky Fallon assured them. "Shall I drop them off at your apartment?"

Vin agreed and settled the bill, telling Mac to meet him at the Dugout for lunch, he had one more errand to run.

* * *

Vincent sauntered up to the Valentine Detective Agency door and knocked.

"Come in," drawled a Chicago-tinged accent.

"Just me, partner," said Vincent as he entered. "Any new cases?"

"Only the one with the missing secretary."

Vin looked worried for a moment."Ellie?"

"Just yankin' your chain, Vincent. She went out to get her wig chopped an hour ago. I mean, how long does it take?"

"When she gets talking to Kathy? All afternoon, my friend. Hey… ah.. I'm here to ask something of you."

"Well, siddown! Anything for you, pal, ask away."

"Nick, you know, you're like the uncle I never had, right? Oh, my Pop had a brother, Ryan but he was a mean sonofabitch, career army asshole. My Pop, Michael, was more like you, just a real solid guy."

Nick knocked ash off his cigarette into the astray on the desk and his amber eyes glimmered just a little brighter.

Vincent continued, "Well, since there's two grooms at this wedding, we felt that we should both have someone to, uh, not exactly give us away but accompany us to the dais. You'd honor me, Nick, if you'd walk by my side."

Nick reached across the desk with his silicon-clothed hand to squeeze Vin's forearm. "It would be my pleasure, Hudson." He reached under the desk, drew out a cigar and handed it to Vin. "I remember the knight in shining armor that got me outta that underground cell an' the man who sat in that chair the first time. It warms this hydraulic pump I call a heart to see you happy again, my friend."

"Seems so long ago, now. Say, I know you two don't exactly see eye to eye but Mac's a good man and he's always got my back."

"I know, I know. Might be good to take on a case between us now and then, though, like the old days?"

"You miss me, you ol' gumshoe? Jealous?"

"Yeah, I miss your company you big lug. Someone'll be missin' yours about now, though. I'll be at the Castle the day before, alright?"

"Sure. Actually, meet me at the Atom Cats Garage at 8am sharp on the big day. We're spending that one night apart."

"Hmm. 'Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire' "

"Beautiful quote. Thoreau?"

"No, no. Gustav Mahler. Ya got rings yet?"

"Oh, heavens to Vault-Betty! No! Gotta go, Nick. Thanks partner, see you soon. Just…"

Vin's pause caused Nick to slur a "Go ooon…"

"Wear your best tie?" Vin winked and rushed out of the office, trailing cigar smoke.

* * *  
The door to the Dugout opened and Vincent walked in, trying his luck with the Port-A-Diner. The wiry claw missed again. "Dangit. Hey Vadim, two beers?" Vin swaggered up to the bar and spotted Mac on the grungy sofa.

“Well, howdy stranger! How did your errands go?” Mac asked, as Vin took his place on the sofa next to him.

"Good. Valentine agreed. Hey, um. We have to stop by the Castle tomorrow, Mac. Ingram's meeting us there, with her engineering calipers. She's the only one I know around here who can work titanium…"

“Titanium? What’s she making?” Mac’s curiosity was piqued.

"Well, she needs to measure our ringfingers, hero. Also, we can finalise prep at the Castle, then head back to Sanctuary for a bit of a rest an' pick up our kids an' our guests to get 'em all there safe for the tenth. Sound like a plan?"

“Sure, it will be nice to get to the Castle and see how the preparations are going, hopefully I’ll be able to put my mind at rest or bang a few heads if they’re slacking!” Mac took a long reflective draught of beer. “It all seems to be going a bit too well, suspiciously so.”

"Oh now, don't jinx it! There will be NO monsterfish at the ceremony. They ain't invited. Hey, Libby is still stayin' at the Flags so you can ask her when we get back, okay? Anything else you need to do here before we leave? Got in touch with Piper yet?"

“I’ve tried… I seek her here, I seek her there… For someone with a home and office right slap bang in the middle of Diamond City she’s sure hard to find. Anyone would think she’s avoiding us!” Mac had become increasingly frustrated in his attempts to contact Piper, Nat had just shrugged when asked her whereabouts and no one in the market had seen her in days.

"That woman!" Vin huffed in exasperation. "Well, she knows where to find _us_. Another beer?"

**January 6th**

Preston greeted them at the gate. "Welcome back, General, Major." His genuine, warm smile faded a little quickly around the edges before he got down to business. "Ronnie has drawn up a duty roster for the next few days. We have the best guns returning here, a few by request, actually as they wanted to be present for your big day. MacCready, Sturges needs to know where you want the dais set up."

“No problem, I’ll just go and see him now.” 

It didn’t take Mac long to find Sturges, he was by the workshop, sawing on some planks of wood. Mac waited until he’d finished before greeting him. “Hi Sturges, how’s the prep going?”

“It’s all goin' great, absolutely nothing to worry about! I was just wonderin' where to put the dais so I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go and discuss it shall we?” Mac and Sturges set off to survey the courtyard for likely locations.

"General," Garvey said respectfully, "I need to go over a few patrol details with you about those Rust Devils but an hour of your time is the only work I'm asking of you until _after_ your wedding."

"I'll be happy to help, Colonel," Vin smiled in reply. The two went off to the General's office and talked strategy for almost an hour. Vin didn't mention his migraine episode at all but was glad to hear that there had been no casualties because of it and that extra patrols had reported no further incursions.

Vin poured whiskey, offering Preston a shot but he declined. "How's Lu?" 

Garvey uncharacteristically went back on his decision and poured himself a finger. "Resting. Ma and Pa Abernathy are looking after her. She won't make the wedding though, sends her apologies. Sent me over here to get out from under her feet." Garveys tone was less honeyed than usual and his smile a little less brilliant.

"Got something you wanna talk about, friend?" Vin asked. 

Garvey shook his head. "Another time." He stood, as did Vincent, and took his hand in both of his own. "Let's get this ceremony planned."

"Oh ho, I think Mac has done ninety percent of that work already! Though, can you get a message to to Greygarden Handies to expect a couple honeymooners for a few days?"

"Greygarden?" Preston said in surprise.

"Bus Stop. Private, secret, cosy."

"Understood, sir." With that, he saluted and left, holding the door open for Proctor Ingram.

"Hello, Vincent," she smiled, brandishing her calipers. Right, let's get you gentlemen measured up!"

* * *

Later that evening, a small group of wanderers approached the gate. A private ran up to Vincent and MacCready who were immersed in discussing their routes toward the dais.

"Sirs!" she saluted. "Two settlers have arrived seeking refuge, escorted by…well…by a Vault Dweller and a ghoul, sirs. Thought you'd want to know."

"Thankyou, Henson. Dismissed," the Sentinel-General said. He turned to MacCready. "Eighty-Oners, you reckon?"

“More than likely, although I’ve never heard of one travelling with a ghoul before.”

Sturges swore from across the courtyard and called MacCready's name. "Go see what he needs, I'll greet the visitors," Vin reassured Mac.

Vincent descended the platform stairs to the southeast gate, now the only way into the Castle. A man and a woman stood to the side, travel-stained and bearing minor injuries but looking relieved. Just behind them was a ghoul, fairly tall with patches of red hair remaining, a serious expression on what remained of his face. At his side stood a short, slightly overweight- looking fellow in a worn, armoured vault-suit. He'd be described as plain if it weren't for the short auburn hair, the copper beard with a black streak down the centre and dark blue-green eyes. 

Vin stuck out a hand. "Sentinel-General Hudson, welcome to the Castle."

The man and woman looked to their saviours to introduce themselves first. 

The shorter man raised an eyebrow at the hand outstretched to him before taking it. "Sentinel? That's Brotherhood. Suppose they had to replace me eventually. Folks call me Walker. You can too, I suppose." 

Vin nodded, tilting his left ear forward and narrowing his eyes.

"Got some of your people here, Sentinel Hudson," Walker continued. "They're in a bad way and need someone to help them out. Think you can take it from here?" He asked, prodding the Sentinel-General slightly, hoping to get a read on the man by his response.

The Sentinel stood solidly, seeming to ignore the prod and turned to a tall, dark guard. "See these two to the Doc, then to the Colonel, please Matthew."

He turned back to the newcomers, cautiously eyeing their slung weaponry. "Should I ask Maxson," Vin said in a low voice, pointing to the Prydwen, "about 'ex-Sentinel Walker'? Do we have a problem here?" he asked, his gaze flicking between the shorter man and the unintroduced ghoul.

Walker's reply and Vin's gravitas was interrupted by the sudden shout of "Well, if it isn't the Hero of the Wastes! Long time no see,” MacCready continued. “You’re a bit far from home aren’t you Walker? What brings you to the Commonwealth?”

"MacCready!? What are you doing here!?" Walker was a bit taken aback by the sudden appearance of his longtime friend. His surprise quickly faded, his eyes widened, and a smile crept across his face as the younger man approached. “Could say the same about you, MacCready,” Walker replied gruffly.

“Me! Oh, well, you already know what a mess I was after Lucy died, I got another kick in the balls from fate when Duncan got ill and the only place there was a hope of finding the cure, was here in the Commonwealth. Dunc and I both live here now…” MacCready trailed off aware of Vin’s intense glare upon him. “It’s OK Vin, me and Walker go way back. And as for Charon,” he gestured at the glaring ghoul, “As long as he’s with Walker then he’s welcome.”

"Let's take this conversation inside, shall we?" Vincent tactfully suggested.

A young private saw the party headed toward the General's office. "Tea, sirs?" he offered. Vincent nodded. It was the mark of a good voluntary militia leader that his troops had volunteered in the first place but that they both liked and respected General Hudson - and offered help and brewed beverages at the drop of a hat - showed the deepseated loyalty that the man and his entourage had earned. 

Brotherhood titles were often dropped for brevity by the militia troops; likewise, Brotherhood knights often dropped the Minuteman titles but none of it was omitted through disrespect.

Paladin-Major MacCready opened the large double doors with enthusiasm.

“In you come Walker, prepare to be impressed,” MacCready announced.

"Why thankyou, Mayor Robert," 

“It’s Paladin- Major these days if you don’t mind. It’s a long time since I was a mayor, and it's not Robert either! It's Mac or MacCready. But hey, we’re all friends here, no need for titles in private. Take a seat everyone,” Mac gestured magnanimously at the chairs.

The men sat around the antique wooden table. The Private soon entered bearing a tray of mutfruit teas, which he carefully placed on the cloth runner, saluted and closed the door carefully behind him.

Vin took a sip. "Let me get you up to speed here, Walker. The Commonwealth has changed the Brotherhood that arrived here a few years ago, for the better I might add. Me, I'm pre-war… yeah." Vin was used to the stock expression that that statement seemed to evoke in people and that he now saw on Walker's and possibly Charon's faces. It was hard to tell with ghouls, sometimes.

"Vault-Tec told me I'd be safe from the nukes, woke up in a freezer two centuries later." Vin clenched his jaw, omitting certain very personal details. "I met the remains of the Minutemen in Concord, helped 'em deal with some raiders, find shelter. Garvey invited me to join the Minutemen but I wasn't ready, still gettin' used to the Wasteland. I used to be a Staff-Sergeant, so when I saw the Prydwen after weeks of living this post-apocalyptic nightmare, I went toward what I knew, the military. I trained up, rose in the ranks, went back to help the settlers from time to time and then Garvey asked me to be his General." Vin sipped some tea and continued.

"I don't know if you've heard of the biggest threat to the Commonwealth, The Institute? Well, they're gone. The Brotherhood took the lead in taking it apart but the Minutemen are the ones putting the pieces back together. We're an alliance now and both sides have had to adjust.  
Our citizens are human, ghoul and Genthree. Questions?"

Walker raises a cup of tea in salute to the Sentinel-General, smiling and leaning back in his seat as he does. 

"Eyyy, vaultie comraderie, brother. If you're from pre-war, you must've had a rough go of it waking up to all this. All thanks to the sadistic pricks at Vault-Tec and the Enclave." Walker takes a sip from his cup before placing it down on the table.

"I never was a 'Vault Dweller' as everybody insists on calling me. It was storage," Vin said darkly. "Still, I appreciate the sentiment."

Walker nodded in acknowledgement. "I helped the Brotherhood take down the Enclave, ya know. They wouldn't be here without me. Or Sarah." His eyes seemed to gloss over at the utterance of her name. Charon noticed and nudged him with his elbow. "Boss." He growled, bringing Walker back to the moment. Vin made a mental note to go through Quinlan's archives later to check Walker's story out, just to be on the safe side. He wouldn't be telling Mac, though.

"I even had your job for a while thanks to her. But me and Maxson, we don't really...see eye to eye if you take my meaning. Even with all the lessons we tried drilling into his head, he still turned out..." but that's a whole other story. He continued. "You seem like a good man, Hudson. And if you're a friend to MacCready, then you're a friend to me. Maybe you'll have better luck with both of them than I did." He finishes with grin and quick glance to MacCready.

“We’re a bit more than friends Walker, we’re getting married in a few days! That’s how you bumped into us here, we’re sorting out the preparations. Normally we’re based further north at a place called Sanctuary. Say, if you guys are still around then maybe you’d like to attend?” Mac was acutely aware that he was showboating, but why not? He had a lot to be proud about.

"Engaged? Under a week? And you couldn't be bothered to invite me before just now? Robert, what the hell?" Walker nearly fell out of his chair in surprise. 

"Maybe the Mayor thinks he's too good for us now that he's a big shot, boss." Charon added, and MacCready could swear the ghoul was grinning for a moment, but he would never admit it. 

"Of course we'll be there." Walker continued, shifting back into his seat. "And Charon will be my plus one of course. Since Clover won't be able to make it."

“Well, it was supposed to be a small gathering, you know, I didn’t want a fuss but as you guys are here now then it seems like fate. Why are you guys here anyway? Where’s Clover?” Mac realised that the pair still hadn’t provided any reasons for their presence in the Commonwealth.

"Clover's fine. We set up a little homestead to the west. Pretty far from here, actually. Someone had to look after the kid while me and Charon were rescuing some wasters, ha ha." He lets out a forced laugh before continuing. "But we came all the way up here to get away from the Brotherhood. I didn't like the direction they were taking back home, and I couldn't be a part of it any longer. I didn't expect to run into them here of all places. Didn't know there was any tech worth stealing..." he trails off under his breath, looking to the floor as if he is ashamed of the Brotherhood. Or what it has become.

The Sentinel-General regarded Walker with a steady gaze for a moment. "Their M.O. didn't sit entirely comfortably with me when I first joined up, either. I was tasked to gather resources but told that force was an acceptable means of… 'persuasion'. I carried out the mission my way and we didn't lose that settlement's respect as a result. In fact, they increased their yield. 

We are still dealing with ingrained prejudices, against ghouls, against Genthrees - that's what we call the third generation of synthetic humans produced by the Institute. Some tried to escape their slavery, we evacuated as many as we could, took the survivors in as refugees. I had to make it very clear to Elder Maxson that either they join the Minutemen in safeguarding these innocents or they'd lose a Sentinel and have a war on their hands. We've all been through enough. Maxson chose peace." Vin finished his tea, without taking his eyes off Walker.

"I can only allow two more guests but you and Charon are welcome to stay for our personal ceremony."

Walker grinned in response to Vin's mention of Maxson. "Heh. Maxson being reasonable? I'll believe it when I see it. Not that I could be in his presence without smacking him, the turd."  
He trails off before picking back up again. 

"People change, Walker," Vin said pointedly.

"And someone has to look after the kid anyway." Walker replied to Vin, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair once again. "Besides, I don't think you've got enough room to accommodate the four of us plus a mister gutsy and a super mutant." He finishes with a grin.

It didn't escape Walker's notice that the Sentinel-General's eyes twitched at the mention of a Super Mutant. "Well, in that case we should conclude business. Does fifty caps a head for rescuing the settlers plus bed and board here at the Castle until the wedding sound fair? You'll be free to come and go until the gates are locked at 10pm on the 10th. Better be back by then. Wedding is at at 11am on the 11th. Anything to add, Mac?"

“Nope, nothing except – enjoy your stay!”

"You don't have to pay me for helping your people, General. It's kinda my thing." Walker chuckles as he rises from the table, with Charon rising with him. "As for bed and board, that won't be necessary either. Gotta check in with the missus and my boy. She hates it if I'm gone too long. Me and Charon will be back in time for the wedding, though. Don't you worry about that." He says as he starts walking off, with Charon close behind. "See you around, Robert. It was nice meeting you as well, Vincent." He finished with a wave.

"I told you, it's Mac, not Robert! Anyway, nice to see you too. See you at the wedding, guys!"

"Safe travels, Walker, Charon," Vin added, raising a hand in response. 

Walker stopped in the doorway of the room and turned to look back over his shoulder at the Sentinel-General. His eyes no longer warm and jovial, a cold seriousness had crept across his face. "People can change, General. But not always for the better. I know that better than most." And then he left.

When the two visitors had left, Vincent turned to MacCready. "So when were you gonna tell me about him, Paladin?" MacCready knew by Vincent's tone and use of his Brotherhood title that the Sentinel was all business right now.

“What’s to tell? Him rocking up was a big of a surprise to me as it was to you! You don’t think I orchestrated it do you?” Mac couldn’t believe that Vin would think he could be so conniving.

"No, no Mac, nothing like that. It's just..we've been together so long and you never once mentioned this 'Hero of the Wasteland'. Seems like a pretty major figure in your life." Vin was subconsciously pouting, well, more than he usually did anyway.

“I’ve tried not to remember what happened in the Capital Wasteland. I certainly don’t want to be taking strolls down memory lane, telling anecdotes and putting a hazy rose tinted nostalgia over those days. I’m here making a fresh start, not here to rake over old graves. You want to know the truth? Sure, it was nice to see Walker, but some of the memories he’s stirred up? Not so nice… “ Mac poured himself another cup of the rapidly cooling tea, wishing that it was something stronger.

"I get it, I really do.You didn't have to mention our _hometown_ , though, R.J., I don't care how far back you an' Walker go. Seriously man, what were you thinking?" There were his initials again. Vin only called him 'R.J.' these days to ram home his point.

“Eh? What’s he gonna do _visit us_? Seriously Vin, it’s not exactly a state secret where we’re based. He’d only have to ask some random in Diamond City to find out where we’re located if he was up to anything. And so what? What if he did visit? I thought Sanctuary was a town that welcomed newcomers?” Mac couldn’t see what Vin’s problem with Walker was.

Vin let out an exasperated breath. "Am I being too overprotective, Mac? I just…the guy is ex-Brotherhood, he has a bodyguard and… I don't know. Maybe I just need to get to know him better. I'm on high alert here, I just want everything to go smoothly, Bun."

MacCready could almost see the old 'DEFCON' alert go down with Vin's use of R.J., down to Mac, down to Bun in the privacy of his office. He rarely used nicknames here, 'at work' as he put it.

“If anything it’s a plus that he’s here, an extra body to help out if anything untoward happens, which it won’t of course…” Mac added soothingly.

"If you trust him, I'll do my best to do the same." Vincent risked a quick kiss, hoping that everyone in the Castle knew to knock by now.

“Now let’s forget about Walker and get on with organising this wedding! Nothing and no one are going to spoil this for us.” They were so close now, even Mac was feeling optimistic.

* * *

**January 8th**

It always did feel like home. Even after the horror of fleeing their pristine bungalow, even after the nightmare of returning to the wreckage in the street; even after burying Nora and Shaun's labcoat in what had been their back yard, Sanctuary Hills was home. Specifically, the house on the corner of the close was home. Vin could never have settled anywhere else.

They arrived at the Longs. Bobbie and Duncan both ran out of the house, excited to see Vin and Mac. Mac grabbed Duncan and swung him high in the air. “It’s good to be home!” he proclaimed.

Bobbie clung to his good leg and Vin had to step behind the cluster of MacCreadys to stop them all from toppling over.

“How’s my little Bobbie-dazzler?” Mac asked leaning down. “Have you got a pretty new dress for the wedding?”  
“Yes, and I want to wear it now, but Mom won’t let me!” she said with a pout.

“Well, you wouldn’t want to get it all dirty now, would you?” said Mac, hoping that he hadn’t prodded the hornet’s nest by mentioning the dress in the first place.

After a brief stop at home to disgorge armour, weaponry and road dust, Vin and Mac with Duncan in tow made a beeline for the Two Flags. When they entered, they found that Shaun had returned and was deep in conversation with Aunt Libby.

"…like a trooper! Honestly I don't know where that kid learned half of his vocabulary but I tell you what, son, it is fucking hilarious how he stops himself now. Oh, sorry I guess I should watch my own language now, shouldn't I?"

"Doesn't bother me, Libby, I don't give a flying fu.."

"SHAUN!" Vin's shout elicited a chuckle from Ron behind the bar, whilst Shaun's startled expression made Duncan laugh. 

“Well, the gang’s all here!” MacCready declared. “Hope that wasn’t me you were talking about, Shaun.” MacCready chuckled to see Shaun’s cheeks flush an even deeper shade of crimson when he realised that Mac had heard at least part of his discussion.

"Oh now don't tell me _I'm_ the bad inflence now," smiled Libby perkily. "Hello dears, how was the trip? Everything ready for the big day?"

“Almost everything, but there’s one essential that I haven’t done yet,” Mac paused for dramatic effect as the assembled company waited, “Aunt Libby, would you please do me the honour of giving me away on my wedding day?”

Olivia Zander flung both hands over her mouth in surprise. If ghouls could cry proper tears, her face would have been streaming. As it was, Vin and Mac saw the glimmer there. "Oh, my Big, grown up Boss Man, of course I will, Sugarbomb!" She reached out for both men's hands to squeeze them. "Oh, now I guess I'll need a real nice frock. Reckon Felix would have anything in stock?"

“He’s bound to have, he’s got a huge inventory these days, and I’m sure he’ll give you a special discount if you tell him what it’s for,” Mac winked, “Actually, I’ll tell you what, I’ll buy whatever catches your eye as a thank you for giving me away.”

Libby leaped down from the barstool and wrapped Mac in a big, maternal hug. "Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's go shopping!"

A local Minuteman guard wandered in, off duty and spotted the General. "Welcome home, sir - sirs," she corrected herself upon seeing the Major. "Nothing to report except very loud music coming from a certain basement well after midnight," she added glaring at Shaun. 

"Biddy!" he complained to the small-statured woman.

"I might not have mentioned it but it set Dogmeat howling…"

"Yeah, he likes singing along!" 

"Okay, no radio after dark, young man" Vin proclaimed. "I've told you before."

"Sorry, sir," Shaun demurred. Duncan loved it when his older brother got told off and couldn't help but smirk.

“I wouldn’t laugh yet young man, not until I’ve had a full behaviour report from Mrs Long!” Mac was teasing, but Duncan very suddenly ceased to smirk.

“It was an accident!” Duncan wailed, “An’ I told Mrs Long you’d pay her back!”

“Oh did you now? What was an accident?” Mac dreaded to think what Duncan had broken.

“It was just some stupid old vase anyway, shouldn’t have left it where it could get knocked over…” Duncan grumbled.

“Right! I will go over and reimburse Marcy, Mrs Long, later! But it’s gonna come out of your pocket money. Now then, are you going to be good for Vin-Pop while I take Aunt Libby to look for a dress?” 

“Yes, Dad,” Duncan said, a cheeky grin returning to his face. It soon fell off again when he saw his Pop's stern raised eyebrow.

**January 10th**

The party from Sanctuary assembled at the bridge, ready to travel to the Castle. Preston was still there but Sturges, the Longs and Bobbie Long-MacCready, Codsworth, Dogmeat, Olivia Zander, Curie, Rhys, Shaun, Duncan, Vin and Mac waited for the accompanying provisioner and two Minutemen guards to give the ready signal.

Diesel Dan was off to one side, discreetly holding hands with Rhys and saying goodbye. Vin saw Dan release his husband's hand and stride toward them. He opened and closed his mouth, momentarily lost for words. Vincent put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I wish you could come with, brother," Vin smiled sadly. Maxson had burned his bridges with the former Paladin Danse, though the Elder clearly regretted his decision now. Of the Brotherhood members in the Commonwealth, only Maxson, Ingram, Hudson and MacCready knew that the synth was still alive. Though the militant organisation had recruited Curie (not knowing at the time that she was an upgraded sentient Miss Nannybot) and Shaun (under the Sentinel's recommendation), Genthrees were generally overlooked for recruitment but no longer shot on sight. They were tolerated as civilians, even though Vin worked hard to argue for equal rights. He'd keep on hammering at that Steel until it was forged fair and strong.

"Here. Something Shaun and I worked to restore together. Perhaps I need not miss out entirely; that is, if you know how to develop photographs?" Dan held out a pristine, white leather effect ProSnap Camera and two rolls of sealed film.

Vin took the gift with a huge grin. "Just so happens I aced chemistry class. Finding a place to turn into a darkroom shouldn't be hard, either. Thankyou, Dan. I'll make sure someone who knows how gets to shoot this thing."

"You… _shoot_ … a camera?"

"Yeah, take shots, 'say cheese', y'know?"

Dan just shook his head. "Cheese? The world used to be a very confusing place. I'm glad I'm here, now, with you, brother."

Vin clapped his once-mentor on the shoulder. "Me too, buddy." Before Vin knew it, Dan pulled him into a brief, firm hug. 

“Hey, if everyone’s getting free hugs, where’s mine?” Mac demanded of Dan. Dan shrugged, and stepped over to Mac, who he enveloped in a stiff and awkward hug. “Thanks!” Mac said to Dan, “Sorry you can’t join us.”

* * *

The party reached the Castle without major incident. Between the Brotherhood checkpoints and the Minuteman patrols, the Commonwealth had begun to heal, like a cleansed wound. 

There was a small welcoming party at the gate, led by Paladin-Colonel Garvey of course. Guests were shown directly to their bunks and refreshments were laid out simply on tables set along the courtyard walls.

Vin carried Mac's suitcase to their private quarters. "It's gonna be strange not sleeping in here tonight," he mused.

“And it’s gonna be strange being here alone, still at least I can guarantee there won’t be any snoring!” Mac’s joviality was somewhat forced, knowing that when the time came to bed down for the night, he’d miss Vin like crazy. Now they were so close to the wedding he didn’t want to let Vin out of his sight for one moment, but everything had been arranged and it was only one night out of the thousands that hopefully lay ahead of them.

Someone rapped on the wooden door. Vin went to open it, finding Proctor Ingram smiling brightly, holding out a small wooden box. "Hey Hudson. Hi MacCready. Look!" she said excitedly, slowly opening the little chest. "They fit inside each other!" 

Within, two beautifully finished titanium wedding bands sat nestled, one inside the other.

"Not that you have ladyhands," Tess teased. "Just that big guy here has sausage fingers," she laughed. 

"Hey, I do not! Just…big-boned. Pop always said we Hudson men were built like brick.."

"Foundations?" interrupted a deep voice. 

Both the Sentinel-General and Paladin-Major saluted Elder Maxson as he strode into the room.

"At ease, soldiers," he replied. "Now, we are all officially off-duty. Is our gift acceptable?

“Oh, it’s acceptable alright, they’re beautiful. May I try it on?” Mac had already started reaching over to the wooden box.

"You both better had to make sure they fit alright!" Ingram said. No-one need have worried though. Tess's fine engineering skills were the best in the Commonwealth.

"Definitely time for the Whiskey an' Cigars club. Arthur? Tess?" Vin offered.

"I breathe enough fumes every day, think I'll leave you boys to it," Ingram gave an old-fashioned salute and walked gracefully away.

"Allow me, " said Arthur, pulling out a wooden box from his great battlecoat. With it came a pristine box of Grey Tortoise cigarettes. "MacCready," he said, pushing the box toward Mac.

“I’ll take a cigar if you don’t mind, Elder, sorry… Arthur.” Mac still felt he was going to get a reprimand for being so familiar with Elder Maxson, however the Elder merely smiled and passed Mac a cigar. Mac grinned and pocketed the packet of Grey Tortoises, with a hint of a wink in Vin’s direction. “Thanks, a special occasion calls for cigars, I believe,” Mac declared, holding his cigar out to Vin to light, not possessing the experience or practice to coax the cigar to life himself.

Arthur fidgeted in his chair, clearly not yet at ease. He removed his coat and was wearing a soft plaid flannel shirt and jeans beneath, which made Vin grin broadly at this rare sight, to see the man out of uniform. Nevertheless, he still looked older than his years, from the battle scars and responsibility weighing him down.

He poured the whiskey into glasses that Mac brought from the curio cabinet.  
"To personal alliances," he toasted. "May your bonds be strong and long-lasting, your love burn steady and true and may you both be truly happy in one another's lives."

“That’s a very moving toast, cheers,” Mac sipped delicately at his tumbler of whiskey, “Ah, now this is the good stuff, goes down smooth as… silk.” He had been filled with the urge to make an innuendo but pulled himself up short, knowing that he’d have to exercise self-control. He always seemed gripped by a self-destructive impulse to be as inappropriate as possible around the Elder but had so far managed to resist. He didn’t want his wedding eve to be the time he slipped so he resolved to go easy on the whiskey whilst in Maxson’s company.

Vin raised his own glass. "Cheers! That was beautiful, Arthur, thankyou and here's to you finding the woman that will teach you about love and make you a Daddy one day." 

Maxson smiled at that. "Soon, I hope!" He actually laughed. Vin managed to make him at ease (he had that effect on people) and soon they were talking of trivial things and finding out things they never knew about the Elder. He liked Hot Rodder magazines and wished he could drive a car because it seemed like fun. He hated funnel cake. He could play brass instruments and bemoaned the loss of his saxophone that had been destroyed during a vertibird flight. He preferred Captain Cosmos to Grognak but still thought comics were for children. And just once, very quietly, he asked if Dan was happy.

After a while, the cigars were stubbed out and the whiskey put away, the three stood and Maxson put on his battlecoat and with it, his usual demeanor. He shook hands with Mac and briefly, in a very manly way, embraced Vin. Mac opened the door for him but there were visitors already on the other side.

Walker stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the Elder, stunned. Charon stopped with him, without showing any emotion other than his perpetual scowl. "Arthur?" Walker squeaked, caught off guard by the man's appearance here and now.

"Walker! What is he doing here?" Maxson said rather harshly.

"He and Charon are our _guests_ , Arthur. I think we'd best all go back inside and get..ah..reacquainted, don't you Mac?"

“Umm, yeah sure,” Mac was almost as discombobulated as Maxson, he had wanted to relax and unwind, and get ready for the big day tomorrow, instead he was caught between feuds and factions. “Look, can everyone please get along, even if it’s just for today and tomorrow?” Mac’s voice assumed a slightly wheedling tone, but the sincerity in his face was clear for all to see. 

"And a hearty hello to you too, prick." Walker responded to Arthur, ignoring Mac, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the man. "I can keep playing nice, Vin. As long as Arty here can stuff his raging hard-on for ghoul murder for five seconds." He concluded.

Vin stuck an arm in front of an imminent Arthur and barked, "You will _both_ be civil whilst you are _our guests_ here. Walker, I expect name-calling coming from my young sons. I'm disappointed. Arthur, cool your jets. Maybe Charon and Walker aren't aware of the Brotherhood and Minuteman coalition's charter on Commonwealth Citizenry that protects the basic rights of each and every ghouled citizen, equally with humans and genthrees? Mac, grab a couple more chairs.

MacCready limped off down the staircase to the basement storage and soon returned with seating. Maxson silently glared at Walker, carefully avoiding looking at the ghoul.

Walker returned Arthur's dirty look. "You think you're disappointed? Imagine how I feel knowing how Arthur here turned out. Despite my best efforts. I practically helped raise him, you know. Me and Sarah did." His expression softens at the mention of Sarah Lyons. An old friend. And a comrade taken too soon.

The Elder's tone was almost subserviant. "The past is in the past, Walker. The Brotherhood has evolved. I've… had my perspectives altered, thanks to Vincent here." Though he still held his chin up defiantly, his eyes were downcast. "Sarah was right," Maxson added quietly "…and I'm sorry I disappointed you, Gabriel."

Seeing Arthur's reaction, the tension in Walker's posture began to dissipate. "Arthur. I...we only wanted the best for you. We knew you could do great things for the wasteland and its people, all of its people. You still can. And if what I've heard is true...then Vincent here has already got you on that path."

“C’mon guys, no politicking tonight! Let’s just work from the assumption that we’re all friends here, worshipping at the altar of Vin and I’s matrimony. “ The room fell silent, momentarily stalled by Mac’s nonsense talk, Mac surveyed the questioning eyes on him, “OK, well maybe not _worship_ but at least you can all respect the occasion. We’re going to have a fun evening. OK?” He looked around the silent room again, “OK?” this time a bit louder, and he was rewarded with a series of mumbled OKs in reply. “That’s more like it! Now, who’d like a beer?”

"I must be going," Maxson said. "Proctor Ingram and I still have preparations to make for tomorrow." He stood, shaking Vincent, MacCready and Walkers hands. He almost turned to go but put out his hand to Charon and waited.

Charon glanced over at Walker, who nodded tentatively. Charon held out a hand slowly, unsure of the situation.

Arthur gave him a firm, brief handshake and strode out of the room. "Until later, Hudson, MacCready," he said genially over his shoulder.

Not long after Maxson had left, Walker approached Vincent purposely. "That went better than I expected. I didn't think anyone could stay Maxson's murder hand. Especially when it comes to non-humans." He leaned in close, nearly invading the Sentinel-General's personal space.

"By the way, I had some friends up here that I haven't heard from in a while. You seem to be in the know about most things going in the Commonwealth, being a bigshot in the Brotherhood and all. You wouldn't happen to have a geiger counter, would you?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Mac felt his stomach drop to his boots. He’d thought that things couldn’t get worse than socialising with the Sheepskin Ramrod, but he’d been wrong, so wrong. He gently placed his hand on Vin’s arm.

Vincent went pale and sat down. Walker noticed that the General's right arm shook. Vin made a fist. "Why, did yours break?" he pressed and Walker could sense that Vin knew they weren't talking about radiation detectors.

Walker raised an eyebrow at Vincent's response. "That doesn't look good." He sighed. "I'm guessing they got themselves into a bit of trouble then. Maybe I can help them out." He added, crossing his arms before the Sentinel-General.

"No-one can help them anymore," Vin whispered. Walker noticed the man struggling to maintain control of his breathing, Mac's hand landing gently on his shoulder, the way Vincent didn't meet his gaze.

Walker's face got serious, almost stern at Vincent's response. Something was bothering the man. But something was bothering him as well. "I'm sure you did your best. Sometimes...that's just the way things go in the wasteland. You can't save everyone. And you can't blame yourself." His voice was softer than it had been. Walker was trying his best to comfort the struggling man before him. He knew loss. And he knew sacrifice.

Vin let out a humourless laugh. "You don't know anything about it, Walker. Did you get a callsign? Well I did. Want to know how that turned out?"  
The man barely raised his voice above a whisper but it rumbled like a distant thunderstorm.

“C’mon now… guys, this was gonna be a fun evening. Please, let’s change the subject.” Mac tried to hold back the tsunami that was building, a futile attempt but he had to at least try.

Walker took a seat opposite Vincent. "Sure, tell me a story." He replied, with a slightly curious inflection in his voice.

"Only if you tell me your callsign first," Vin growled.

Walker stared into Vincent's glossy eyes. "Wanderer. Of course." He replied, low and monotonous.

Hudson didn't reply immediately. His gaze was not on anything in the room. His cheeks reddened, a sharp contrast against the paleness of his skin. He took slow, steadying breaths and said, "Bullseye. Mine was Bullseye. Ironic… "

"Are you sure you want tell him?" Mac asked quietly.

Vin's head did a quirky sideways nod. "You trust him, Mac. Call it therapy." Vincent forced himself to meet Walker's gaze and only then did Gabriel see the depth of trauma in the man's green eyes.  
"It was 2287. I was just trying to find my son. They - the Institute - had kidnapped him from the freezers at one eleven. Murdered my wife. I needed to find their secret door. The Railroad welcomed me, said they'd help. I omitted to mention that I'd signed up to the Brotherhood. Back then, it was a means to an end. The Minutemen were still rebuilding, didn't have the resources to face up to the Commonwealth's boogeyman. I'd met synths, Gen three's I mean; they were just people, freakily born outta science, yeah but…just like us. I swore to protect them, even knowing the Brotherhood's stance. I thought I could rally the Minutemen, the Brotherhood and the Railroad against the Institutute an' get my son back." Vin's chin wobbled, he looked close to sobbing. "I thought the Railroad could help the settlers just like they helped the synths but Des wouldn't listen. She let human lives go to waste to save genthrees. Damn, stubborn woman. It got her killed. Only two factions were getting outta this _fucknuked_ pile o' crap an' nobody was gettin' between me and Shaun. I had to. Choose. Y'understand now, Walker? I _chose_ to follow orders an' I've been payin' my penance ever since."

Walker lowered his head slightly. The shadow of his brow obscuring his eyes as his mouth hardened. "Just following orders. The Brotherhood's orders. I used to 'just follow orders'. When I bombed the Enclave's mobile base I was 'just following orders'. When I forced the super mutants back to the vault they crawled out of I was 'just following orders'. But when the Brotherhood wanted me to lead an assault on Underworld, a settlement of peaceful, non-feral ghouls I stopped 'just following orders'. I made a choice to not let the Brotherhood destroy an entire settlement and murder its residents over some bullshit wasteland purity rhetoric. You made a choice, Hudson. To you it was the right one. You say it was to help the people of the wastes..." Walker raises his head, teary eyed to look Vincent in the eye. "And I believe you. I believe that you are a good man who did what he thought he had to. To you, the Brotherhood was the way forward. I only hope you're able to hold their reins and keep them steady. Because if you can't...God help the people of the Commonwealth."

“Well, if anyone can, Vin can. I’m sure you’ve observed the Commonwealth on your stay here, he’s somehow managed to take this fucked up mess of a place and make something of it, something good.” Mac was pleased that Walker had chosen to see Vin’s side, but if Walker had insisted on calling Vin out then there was no question where Mac’s loyalty lay, he’d have escorted Walker and Charon from the Castle himself after telling them they were no longer welcome in the Commonwealth.

"I think we all need to wind down. Walker, Charon, the Mess is at your disposal and I hear Cait is running card games and the like." Vin got up and shook Walker's hand. "Sounds like you and I are cut from similar cloth, friend. Now if you don't mind," Vin gestured to the door.

Walker graciously got up from his chair and gesticulated at Charon to do the same. “I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any upset, Vin. Thanks once again for your hospitality.” Walker nodded to Vin and Mac as they left, wanting them to know that he harboured no ill will towards them. 

Mac got up and watched their retreating backs as they left in the direction of the Mess. “Phew, what an evening. Let’s hope that’s the drama over and done with! How are you feeling Vin?” Mac came and sat down beside him, “We can just stay in here for a while if you don’t feel like facing anyone yet.”

"To be honest… I think I need you to hold me.."

“Now that I can do,” Mac moved his chair even closer to Vin, and leaning over gave him an all-encompassing hug.

Vin closed his eyes and breathed the scent of his lover. His good ear was pressed to Mac's chest, just listening to the strong beat of the younger man's big heart.

There was a knock at the door again. “For eff’s sake! That had better be someone bringing food or alcohol, there’s no other good reason for disturbing us.” Mac reluctantly got up to open the door.

"Relaaax, fellas, it's just the old synth detective an' a coupla kiddos."

"Come in, Nick," Vin shouted. The door opened and Duncan ran in. "Dad! Pop! Marcy made Bobbie go to bed like, two hours ago but I had a Nuka Quantum, well, a half a one and I'm not tired yet.

“Oh, trust me, you’ll be out like a light once the Nuka wears off, Dunc,” Mac knew from experience.

Shaun sauntered in next to Valentine. "Hey, Dad. Can I come with you to the Atom Cats? They're gonna be your entourage back here tomorrow, figured I could join them?"

"Well…" Vin stood and walked in front of the ornate table.

"Our Power Armor is already there. I made sure!"

" _Our_ Power Armor, Shaun? Sneaky. Alright, son. Got everything?"

"Yeah. I'm good to go."

Valentine put an arm around Vin's shoulder. "Sorry, MacCready, I gotta borrow this big teddybear now. Come on, pal, let's get you to the garage." 

Mac stepped forward to kiss his fiancé goodbye. He held Vin close and whispered in his ear, “This time tomorrow we’ll be married! Sweet dreams, lover.”

After everyone had left Mac felt deflated. He pondered whether to mosey down to the Mess to join in with the fun and games that he could hear wafting in on the breeze. He decided against it, he wanted to be in tip-top condition for tomorrow. Besides which he still had his vows to write, he’d been procrastinating and now the moment was here when he could procrastinate no longer. He took out a pen and paper and sat thoughtfully at the desk. Inspiration took a while to flow and was aided by a small amount of fine whiskey. By the time Mac was satisfied time had flown by and it was past midnight. He made his way to the bed, wondering how Vin was getting on, just a short distance away from him. Mac sighed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He hugged a pillow in lieu of Vin, a very poor substitute but it would have to do. Within moments he was snoring gently, happily oblivious to the merriment elsewhere in the Castle.

That evening, Zeke and the gang welcomed Vin, Shaun and Valentine with open arms. They cranked the Jukebox up, cracked a few beers, played some pool and read a couple of poems. Around midnight, Vin excused himself. He couldn't afford to put sleep off much longer but he just had to check his vows one last time.

**January 11th**

_"He's a good influence on you, I'm glad you two get along so well… I can't always be here to patch you back together, hon….wake up, Darling, it's your big day today! They're going to love your speech, Nate…go on…_ …. **With you at my side, I feel I can take on the world. There's no bond stronger than that...Vin…**

Vin awoke on the spare bed at the Atom Cats' Garage. "Thankyou Nora," he whispered to the memory of his wife and her image faded from his mind's eye to be replaced by the handsome face of the man he loved. He checked the time and headed to the washroom.

"Morning, Dad!" Shaun smiled, seeing his Dad finish shaving. "Breakfast is ready when you are. It's a seafood special," he winked. Mac hated seafood and they rarely had it. There was to be none at the reception buffet, so Vin's mouth watered. 

"Mirelurk jerky, too?" 

"Yeah, Dad, the foul fish-chews too." 

Vin put down the toothpaste he'd picked up. "Better do that after, then." He headed to the bar.

"Heyyy, Big Cat, one hot bean-juice," said Bluejay as he plonked a strong Boston style coffee down in front of Vin, who upon smelling the cooking food and coffee said, "I'm not sure I can face breakfast, now." 

Valentine slid onto a barstool and accepted a coffee himself. "Butterflies? I can only imagine. You ought to try though, partner, you'll need your strength. Big day an' all."

"Yeah, I guess so." Vin sipped at his coffee and Roxy slid a Mirelurk omelette under his nose. He dug in, suddenly finding his appetite again though the nerves hadn't entirely vanished.

Before long, he was suiting up, once in his shirt, tie, blue jacket and trousers, with smart brown leather shoes. Shaun came up to him with a blue cooler in hand. "Here, Piper sent this." He opened it to reveal a maroon mutfruit flower corsage with pale beige leaves. He affixed it to his Dad's lapel. 

"It won't get crushed?" Vin asked,

Shaun measured with his fingers out from Vin's chest. "All clear, sir," replied his son with a half-smile, just like Vincent's.

"Well, someone cleans up good," drawled Nick. 

"Right back at you, Valentine!" The synth detective was wearing a pristine, pale grey single breasted suit with a silver and blue tie. He posed for a moment before tipping his hat and pulling his tatty trenchcoat over the top, 'just for the journey'. 

The Atom Cats gathered at the garage door, the whoosh and clunk of powered armour enveloping each one. Shaun and Vincent's own suits stood ready, cleaned and polished, the paint on Vin's touched up in the places he never quite got round to doing. Rowdy's grin beamed out. "Your chariot awaits, Daddy-O!"

Vin entered his Sentinel T-60, gave quiet thanks for the clear blue winter sky and stomped out with his gang, toward the Castle.

* * *

That morning, Mac rose bright and early. He made his way down to the Mess for breakfast, feeling thankful that he’d been sensible and gone to bed early...ish. There were going to be more than a few sore heads that morning but for once his wouldn’t be one of them. After enjoying a hearty breakfast he took a stroll around the courtyard, checking everything was in place and liaising with a tired looking Sturges to make sure that the day would run without a hitch.

 _"It's nine o'clock and you're listening to Radio Freedom. All's quiet out there folks but not so much at the Castle today. We have a special announcement,"_ continued Saxon, the Minuteman radio operator. "Tune in at ten-thirty a.m. for a live commentary, yes folks today is the big day: the wedding of our Heroes of the Commonwealth: Sentinel-General Vincent Hudson and Paladin-Major R.J. MacCready." A musical fanfare, the last bars of Listz's Hungarian Rhapsody, played briefly, "Radio Freedom is happy to welcome a guest presenter from then until midday, all the way from the Great Green Jewel, Mister Travis 'Lonely' Miles. This special broadcast will go out on both stations simultaneously, folks! Keep it tuned here for Minutemen alerts."

The ubiquitous fiddle music played once more.

It didn’t take long for Mac and Sturges to be satisfied with the arrangements, so Mac found himself at somewhat of a loose end. Guests were starting to stir, and the courtyard was buzzing with conversation as people milled around. It promised to be fine day, though cold, and the low January sun made the glitter covered branches that lined the aisle sparkle. Mac spotted Marcy with Bobbie and Duncan and went over to greet them, hugging both of the kids in turn. “Hope you all slept well! It’s a big day today!” 

“When can I put my dress on?” Bobbie demanded, looking from Mac to Marcy in turn.

Mac shrugged his shoulders. “Your Mom’s the boss for this one, Bobbie-dazzler!” 

Marcy smiled, “We’ll all go and get our outfits on about a half hour before. Maybe that way we can keep them clean!”

Walker and Charon ambled over, evidently worse for wear for having enjoyed the hospitality of the Castle Mess last night. Mac greeted them, aware of a slight air of disapproval radiating from Marcy. 

“Marcy, this is Walker and Charon, they’re from the Capital Wasteland and my special guests today. We go way back.” Marcy nodded and politely greeted the pair.  
“And this is Bobbie,” Mac continued, “She’s my little sister, and she’s been adopted by the lovely Marcy,” he nodded at Marcy, “and her husband Jun. By the way, where is Jun?”

“Still not up yet,” Marcy grumbled. “Snoring fit to wake the dead.”

“Ah,” said Walker, “That’s probably the same Jun we met last night. Fun guy!”

Marcy sighed, hoping that Jun’s head wouldn’t be too sore when he surfaced. 

"And this is...Bobbie?" Walker asked, kneeling down to the young girl's level. "I didn't know you had a sister, Robert." He continued, looking up at MacCready.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a long story, but when Vin and I went back to Little Lamplight to get Duncan we met my mom there, pulling the same stunt that she did with me - dumping her kid at Little Lamplight. She actually gave birth while we were there and we brought Bobbie back with us.”

"I'm guessing she didn't stick around for a family reunion while you were there?" Walker asked, rising to meet MacCready's gaze. "That's rough, man."

“Unfortunately she didn’t survive, it was a difficult birth… Vin did the best he could in the circumstances…. .” Mac blinked back tears, determined not to let the memory spoil his day. “At least we got to meet each other again, even though it was fleeting.”

"I'm sorry, MacCready." Walker said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she'd be proud as hell to see you here today." He continued with a small, warm smile.

Mac was aware of a familiar figure approaching and turned to greet him. “Good morning Pastor Clements! Am I glad to see you!” Everything seemed to be in place for the wedding, the Pastor was here, the preparations all done and double checked. Now all they needed was the other groom.

The Pastor shook MacCready's hand, telling him that he was about to get ready just as Preston walked up behind him. 

"Morning, Mac," smiled the Paladin-Colonel. He was looking smart, having eschewed his duster, hat and scarf and showing off his beautiful brocade waistcoat on top of a clean, sky-blue shirt with a gold cravat. "The troops are ready for your inspection…sir," he added with a small grin. Mac looked up to where the militia had gathered at the armoury door. Each soldier wore a clean, new uniform. Skyblue shirts, dark blue waistcoats that Mac guessed contained ballistic weave from the telltale shimmer, tan leather dusters, tough brown cotton trousers and painted leather armour. Cait tipped her cowboy hat. "Smart, ain't we sir?"

“You’re all putting me to shame! The uniform is amazing, I’m sure the Sentinel-General will be delighted.” Mac was feeling underdressed and decided it was about time that he went and got changed into his wedding regalia.

As he returned, Aunt Libby wandered up, looking stunning in a long, burgundy damask lace, full-length gown with a soft, matching scarf. She may have been a ghoul but the beautiful woman she once was shone through in her eyes and poise. "Let's get you into position, soldier," she commanded, smiling and gesturing to the Armoury, where he would begin his journey along the green carpeted 'aisle' toward the dais, whilst Vin would enter at the main gate, ascend the entrance stairs to the watch platform and descend, walking down his own green path. 

“OK, thanks for this, you look beautiful, I couldn’t ask for a better ‘giver away’,” Mac nervously got into the position.

Libby patted his hand. "Such a handsome Big Boss Man you grew up to be, MacCready," she whispered, smiling as proudly as if he were her own son.

Preston grabbed a loudspeaker, climbed the entrance platform stairs and called everyone to their seats, set up in the bailey. Soon, the smart militia kept watch from atop the Castle walls. Around the dais on the ground, chairs were arranged in rows. On the smooth ground in front, where family could see Vincent and MacCready's faces, sat Dogmeat with his chin on Shaun's saved seat and two empty chairs for Aunt Libby and Valentine, Marcy and Jun with Bobbie, Duncan and Codsworth. The next row seated Tess Ingram, Arthur Maxson, Leonard Rhys, Amélie Curie and Gabriel Walker. Charon was seated behind him, next to Sturges and Hancock, who tried winking sexily at Charon but getting no response.

The other side of the dais, among the rubble-strewn floor by the memorial tree, perched several more seats occupied by Ronnie Shaw, the Castle staff and a few other militia.

The crowd hushed as Radio Freedom's usual music quietened. Saxon switched the output leads so that only the recorded music would be heard in the courtyard, whilst he and Travis - who was untangling microphone leads - would be able to run commentary from the central concrete radio room without disturbing the proceedings.

Walker lifted himself up in his chair directly behind Codsworth, straining to see over him. His short stature was working against him once again. "Damn it. Why did I have to get all sentimental and pick the seat behind this posh spherical butler? Can barely see anything." He huffed, settling back down in his seat.

Codsworth must have heard his mutterings because he retracted his left and right ocular stalks, removed his bowler and sank a little lower. 

At that moment, Cait who was on the wall keeping watch, gave the signal. The music began: Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Simultaneously, the gates opened and Vincent entered, his power-armoured entourage behind him, Nick Valentine (coat discreetly discarded) to his left. 

MacCready emerged from the archway, Libby on his right arm. They walked slowly, impeccably in time with the music, down the aisle. 

At the same moment, Vin fired his jetpack, spectacularly leaping the stairs to the platform at a single bound. His thunderous landing added percussion to the classical piece. He exited the armour, as did Shaun simultaneously but out of view. Valentine took Vincent's arm and they proudly descended the stairs. 

Vin caught sight of Mac. He looked so dapper in his tan suit with matching corsage. He was only vaguely aware of Shaun taking his seat, of the seated crowd, of the still power armoured Atom Cats watching now from the platform. All he could see was MacCready, almost close enough to touch now. Valentine and Olivia peeled away and there they were, together. Somehow Mac's right hand was enveloped in Vin's left, Vin's right in Mac's left. 

Pastor Clements welcomed everyone and the two grooms ascended to the dais.

The music faded and changed to another Liszt piece: Consolation No. 3. 

The Pastor said a few non-denominational words of blessing and welcome. He took a golden cord and wrapped it about both men's wrists as they said their vows.

"Vincent Hudson, you now hereby swear your vows," prompted Clements.

Vin smiled at MacCready, took a steadying breath and said the words he'd committed to memory: 

"Well, you said at one point that I'd pretty much guaranteed being your friend for life but the longer we travelled together, the more I realised that we were more than just friends, more than companions."

"You saved me so many times over, showed me my honest reflection, helped me to face my own feelings and have been _incredibly_ patient."

Mac’s eyebrows raised slightly at this. Maybe he should have been more impatient if Vin had thought his behaviour had been patient! He quickly centred himself to listen to Vin’s resonant voice read out the rest of his vows.

"R.J. MacCready, I vow to be your sidekick, your protector, your husband. I vow to be a good parent to your son and an attentive spouse.  
You have my heart, my loyalty and my life."

I love you, Mac."

"Robert Joseph MacCready, you now hereby swear your vows."

Mac blushed and fumbled with the piece of paper that he took from his pocket, he cleared his throat, and mopped his tear filled eyes.

“Vincent Hudson, I promise that I will always love you and always have your back. From the moment our paths crossed in Goodneighbor I knew that you were special, but I never dreamed I could be special to you. You had the weight of the world on your shoulders, yet you made the time to help me, without you Duncan wouldn’t be here today and neither would I.” 

He paused, to look at his son, watching the proceedings eagerly from his seat, “You’ve made me a better man, and I’m happy and proud to promise myself to you in front of our family and friends. Today is the beginning of the rest of our lives, and I vow to make the most of each day with you, to never let the sun set on an argument and to walk this earth with you until the day I die.”

Vincent was smiling through tears of joy, looking deeply into those keen, blue eyes.

"Gentlemen, you may now exchange rings."

Walker was openly crying at this stage, as was Preston and even Marcy. 

Vincent reached into his pocket with one hand whilst taking up Mac's left hand to place the beautifully crafted ring on his finger.

Mac briefly admired his wedding ring as it caught the light then reached into his pocket and felt the heavy titanium band destined for Vin between his fingers, he’d been checking constantly whilst waiting with Aunt Libby, so anxious was he about forgetting it. It was with some relief he placed it on Vin’s finger.

"By the authority vested in me by the Council of Diamond City and by the Minutemen of Steel, I hereby proclaim you, husband and husband!"

Vincent's smile was one of pure happiness. He cradled Mac's cheek in his large hand, just as Mac reached to do the same, a mirror image. Their kiss was tender and deep with a hint of the passion each promised the other later that evening.

The whole seated assembly stood and clapped, Dogmeat barked. 

The Pastor turned to the crowd. "May I present to you Sentinel-General Hudson-MacCready and Paladin-Major MacCready-Hudson!" The officiate turned to the newlyweds to sign the marriage certificate, witnessed by Valentine and Olivia who had joined them once again.

The classical music faded to be replaced by "Dear Hearts and Gentle People"

The newlyweds made their way down the steps to greet the crowd.

"That was beautiful, you guys." Walker said, approaching Vin and MacCready while wiping the last of the tears from his eyes. "I wish you well in your new life together, but we really should be going. Before we do, I got you a little something." He adds with a grin, reaching behind his back. He holds a pristine comic book out to Vin and MacCready, waving it for them to take. "I found this out in the wastes. The Adventures of Atomcat. Since I know Robert likes collecting these things..."

“Aww thanks, Walker. Hey, don’t be a stranger! If you’re ever back in these parts, look us up!” Mac said, feeling high on the relief that was coursing through his system.

"Actually we both do, thankyou Walker. Listen, if you and your family ever need anything, the Minutemen of Steel are at your service. 

Walker smiled and nodded, making way for the next person to congratulate the couple. Before anyone else could get a word in, Vin leaned over and kissed MacCready again, a huge grin appearing under that signature moustache.

"You know I'm not gonna stop kissing you in public for the rest of the day, Mr. MacCready-Hudson?"

Mac grinned in return, “Yep, and it had better not just be today either!”

His husband was easily flustered by certain things. "Oh, well, ah… maybe not in public _all_ the time, certainly not on duty, soldier. Well, not very often on the job, anyway," Vincent smirked.

"Gross, our parents are making out again, Shaun!" shouted Duncan from across the bailey.

"What did you expect would happen today, squirt?," said Shaun, ruffling Duncan's carefully combed hair. 

"Hey! Marcy'll nag again!" Duncan complained.

A black plastic comb appeared by his face. "I got your back, kiddo," Sturges reassured him with a wink. He also produced a small tin of pomade. "Wanna look cool?" 

"Yeah, Teddy!"

"Hush now, I tol' you not to use ma first name!"

"Sorry, Sturges. Let's go use the barber's mirror!"

"Alrighty. Tag along, Shaun?" 

"My nest is hep already, man. Don't be long, Dunc, Dad an' Pa will wanna see us soon," he said, though judging by the crowd already around the newlyweds, they had five minutes.

Codsworth hovered in front of Vin and Mac. "Well Congratulations, sirs! Better late than never, eh? Though…oh…"

"What's up, old friend?" asked Vin. 

"Hudson-MacCready and _MacCready-Hudson_? Are you trying to fry my recognition circuits, Mister Vincent?"

Mac couldn't help but let out a badly suppressed chuckle. 

"You can stick to the first parts, Codsworth, don't worry," Vin reassured the old 'worryguts-y', as Duncan once nicknamed him. 

Mac looked around, he’d have expected Duncan and Shaun to have come over to them by now. “I wonder where the boys have gone? Hope they’re not up to any mischief.”

Maxson was shaking Vin's hand already and patting him on the shoulder. He did the same to Mac and said, "You've pleasantly surprised me over the years Macready..ah…MacCready-Hudson. You two always were a top-notch soldiering team. May you be as effective as a married couple."

“Umm, thanks Arthur, that means a lot,” Mac was sincere, he was in a highly emotional state and even the good will of Elder Maxson brought tears to his eyes, whereas normally it would have made him rather suspicious.

Duncan tugged Maxson's coat. " 'Scuse me sir! Dad, Pop, I got a cool Duck's A… a..a.."  
Maxson was looking down at the boy quizzically.  
"…a cool hairstyle! See?"

Arthur backed away to leave the family in peace.

“Jumping Jehoshaphat Duncan! What the heck have you done to your hair?!” Mac stifled a snigger, not wanting to encroach on his son’s dignity.

"Sturges gave me a.. a hep mess!" 

Shaun chuckled. "Think you mean nest, little bro, like hairstyle, you know." He pointedly looked at Mac. "He's cool, ya dig? Hey," Shaun grinned, hugging his Dad and Pa together. Vin and Mac kissed Shaun on one cheek each, then each other "Eww, hehe!" Shaun protested weakly. "Congratulations, Daddy-Os. Preston said to tell you the reception starts in The Mess soon, 'kay?"

"We'll be right along," Vin promised. 

They managed to move through the well-wishers to the Castle's cafe. The diner-style tables were laid with almost-white cloths and candle centrepieces. A head table had been set up where the counter and till usually stood. The grooms took their places as the room filled.

Codsworth helped the Castle staff serve the four course meal. Hancock got up from his seat and swaggered to the head table and signalled to a waiting Private at the doorway.

"Hey, loverboys, a little bird told Daisy that _someone_ was cravin' a taste o' the world that was. Okay, Henson, bring it in!"

Two Minutemen guided the squeaky hostess trolley, on top of which stood an impressive three -tier cake. A brown cake.

"Is that… chocolate?" asked Vin in disbelief.

"Sure is, boss. An' not that brown icing Slocum's Joe calls chocolate, neither. This, my friends, is the real deal," the ghoul purred.

Codsworth handed Vin a large knife. "We do this bit together, Mac," smiled Vincent, placing his husband's hand on top of his own. It slid into the confection slowly, smoothly, the aroma making Vin's mouth water. Soon, the cake was divided into enough tiny portions so that every person in the Castle grounds that day could finally boast that they knew what the fabled chocolate tasted like.

Vincent tried to savour his but eventually, it was gone. "So, hero, did you enjoy that?"

“Truthfully? It was kind of weird tasting, I mean nice but weird. A bit like weak coffee. By the way you missed a bit!”

"You're gonna have to get that," said Vin, leaning right in.

Mac mirrored Vin’s movement and gave his husband a huge smacker of a kiss, causing a spontaneous cheer from the guests. Now both men had chocolate in their moustaches but neither noticed the tiny smears.

Hancock jumped up and shouted "Speech! and Preston seconded the shout. Soon the entire room was chanting "Speech, speech!" Vincent turned his blushing face toward Mac. "You wanna go first, hero?"

“No, not really, “ Mac mumbled, before turning to face the assembled guests, he took a deep breath and steadied himself on the back of his chair. “I’m not going to make a long speech, you’ll be pleased to know,” a small ripple of laughter went through the crowd, Mac smiled to acknowledge them, “I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who came today, and thanks to everyone for their kind words, their gifts and for making this day truly special. Cheers, everyone!” Mac raised his glass.

Many glasses were raised in return as he gratefully sat down again. His new husband smiled lovingly at him and squeezed his hand.

Vincent stood up, a shadow of nervous tremor running down his right side. He remembered fragments of the speech he had prepared to give in another life and thought of all that MacCready and their closest companions had helped to build. He took a quick swig of wine, a steadying breath and looked out at his family, friends and colleagues.

He smiled, looked down and shook his head slightly. When he looked up again, it was the face of the Sentinel-General, confident, experienced and kind.

"Six years ago I woke up to a new life. Losing so much at once…it changes a person. Things you once avoided facing about yourself, are right there in front of you. 

When you find new companionship, you hold it dearer, learn to savor every moment. New friends teach you new things about yourself, too. If ya could've asked Staff-Sergeant Hudson if he could see himself with a husband one day, that old me would've sworn a very straight no way! I learned the heart has it's own wisdom. It's like a magnet to other hearts, whatever they might be clothed in. You just know when you find the one," Vin looked down at Mac with that gentle, warm expression he often wore watching Mac wake up in the morning.

"So…here's to love and companionship. We're all stronger together." He raised his glass and the guests applauded as he sat.

 _"How did I do, hubby?"_ he whispered.

“Wonderful,” Mac squeezed Vin’s hand. “Do we get to relax now?” He asked with a huge grin on his face.

"Damn right we do. Wanna split soon? Get to Greygarden before evening?"

Before Mac could answer, a familiar figure in a red dress sashayed up. "Well hello dreamboats! It's a little early for me but John said you might escape the Castle soon. The boys have the stage set up, let me sing for you a while?" Magnolia asked in a syrupy voice.

“Of course, we wouldn’t want to miss out on a special performance!” Mac turned to whisper to Vin, “I’d love to slip off but I don’t want to offend Magnolia…”

"We'd love to stay a little longer to hear you, Magnolia," Vin replied. "Just three songs though, doll then we have to go. Feel free to enjoy the Castle as long as you wish."

"Show starts in a half hour then, boys! Seeya round." She swayed off, gracefully and both men couldn't help but watch her go, one last stare for old times' sake. 

"Hey, let's start packin'," Vin suggested.

* * *

People were piling gifts onto and around the table in the General's Office. 

Nick and Ellie gave a pair of fine crystal shotglasses and a sealed, giftwrapped Macallen Ruby Whiskey. Vin read the label out on the back:

"Fruitcake, chocolate and coffee on the nose, leads into rich, sweet, sherried fruits and marmalade to taste. A big and fruity finish, rich dark berries and long lasting bliss. What an incredible dram!"

“Who wrote that? They must have been addled with chems, what a load of bull!” Mac sneered at the flowery description. “I mean it’s nice, but can’t say it tastes like fruit”

"Oh, you never went to a wine tasting party. My Master Sergeant invited us to this charity evening…you know you had to spit the wine out after trying it? Yeah, I never did get the 'bouquet' Vin sarcastically added with a raised eyebrow and little flourish." 

Preston entered. "Congratulations again, both of you," he smiled, though it still wasn't the dazzling grin he usually bore. "From myself and collectively, the settlers," he said as he handed over a small box containing a key and a map, plus brought in by Ronnie Shaw, a couple of flight helmets, one painted midnight blue with the Minuteman lightning symbol, the other a fair hand-painted attempt at leopardskin with a midnight blue stripe down the centre and a sniper rifle silhouette.

As Vin's old friend handed him the helmets, he explained, "She's waiting for you at Starlight Drive-In, ready to take home to Sanctuary. Stick to the route, it's the only smooth road for miles!"

The red keyfob felt comforting in Vin's palm, the silver LW shone in the electric and oil lamp light of the room. "How…?" was the only word Vin managed.

"I remembered you mention the one in Bradburton's collection at Nuka World, Vincent. I also remember your face when you told me about it and knew it was special to you. So, we made use of a Vertibot cargo lifter and let Sturges check it over. He gave it a paintjob, too, you'll see," Preston smiled. "Just…drive carefully?"

Vin gave a deep appreciative chuckle and grabbed Preston in a bear-hug. "Man, thankyou. Oh Mac, you have a helluva treat in store!"

Mac didn’t share Vin’s enthusiasm for motorcycles, in fact, he was scared to death at the prospect of straddling a fast moving bike with nothing to hold onto apart from Vin. “Yeah, thanks Preston, you shouldn’t have… I mean really you shouldn’t have!” He chortled at Preston’s conspiratorial expression, as Preston had much the same feeling as Mac concerning the motorbike. Seeing the pleasure in Vin’s face, Mac forgot his own reservations and was glad that the gift had brought so much joy to his husband. “I promise to try it at least once…” he murmured, hiding his crossed fingers.

They left the rest of the gift unwrapping for later. It was all a little overwhelming for MacCready, who was really taken aback by people's generosity.

They packed suitcases with comfortable clothes, toiletries and a few of the consumable gifts, then went out to the courtyard. The chairs had been pushed back to the walls, the sky had been darkened with clouds and the winter sunset enough for the coloured lights to make the space look quite magical.

A spotlight shone on the dais, now converted to a stage and another on Magnolia, descending the platform as Vin had done earlier. The music struck up, laid back and easy jazz and blues.

Magnolia lifted a microphone to croon: "This one time special performance goes out to two handsome fellas who met at the Third Rail and fell in loooove," the singer lingered on the last word as the band started to play.

When she sang 'I'm the One You're Looking For', Mac suddenly felt like dancing, as several people paired up in front of the stage.

“C’mon Vin,” he urged, “We’ve got to have a wedding dance!” he grabbed Vin’s large hand and pulled on it gently.

They spotted Valentine tip his hat and extend his hand to Aunt Libby who smiled as coquettishly as her ghouled face allowed and came out onto the dancefloor. Nick made it look effortless and Vin made a mental note to ask him if the old Nick had had professional lessons. Olivia was keeping up with his lead flawlessly, too.

The next song was 'Baby, It's Just You'. Vin sat that one out and MacCready got them both drinks. They spent most of that song either kissing or drinking. Duncan and Bobby were being looked after by Preston but Shaun caught his Dad's eye, smiled and gave him a double thumbs-up. Shaun had always really liked MacCready; in fact, he found him easier to talk to sometimes than his Dad.

The last song they stayed for was 'Man Enough'. Maybe the alcohol had greased Vin's dancing shoes as he got up and extended his hand towards his husband. "May I have this dance, sir?" he asked.

“But of course, sir,” Mac was on his feet in a trice, happy that Vin was doing the asking for a change.

Vin busted out his best rock 'n' roll moves, now he had a little 'dutch courage' in his belly, shimmying to the beat, nothing showy but he was definitely showing off a bit to Mac.

The song ended as Vin pulled a spinning Mac into his embrace. 

“Wow, you’re setting the floor on fire tonight, Vin! What happened to your two left feet?” Mac eyed his prosthetic foot suspiciously. “You haven’t foisted it onto me have you?!”

Vin laughed out loud but lowered his voice to say, "I almost forgot about that thing. Hadn't realised I'd made an all singing, all dancing leg, though I'm glad I didn't knock the toe-blade release catch!"

They left the dancefloor with the minimum of socialising, changed into jeans, tees and leather jackets (Mac now had a matching Atom Cats jacket from Zeke and the gang) and met their boys to say goodbye for a few days.

Whilst Duncan was hugging his Vin-Pop, Shaun approached his other dad. "Hey, Pa. I know you've been in our lives like, forever but I just wanted to let you know… I'm real glad you guys made it official. I know I'm lucky to have two parents who love each other. You're both superheroes to me," he smiled. "Enjoy your Quest to find the Honeyed Moon!" he winked. 

“Thanks Shaun, I’ll just follow the bees, they’ll lead me straight there! The birds and the bees that is... ” Vin caught the exchanged and groaned. “What?” said Mac, “He started it!” and with that he pointed at Shaun who laughed loudly.

Shaun turned to Vin and hugged him. "I hope I get as lucky one day," he whispered. "Have a great honeymoon, Dad. Just wait 'til you meet 'Captain Cosmos'," he grinned. Just promise me I get the second ride?" Vin nodded his agreement.

Duncan didn't say much but gave them both big hugs, being a little clingy with Mac.

“Hey Dunc, I’m jealous of you, you get to stay here and enjoy the rest of the party! We’ll be back in a few days, and you can tell us all the exciting stuff that we missed out on by leaving early, will you do that for me?

Duncan nodded solemnly, but wasn’t completely satisfied. “Only if you ask Preston if I can stay up until 10! Otherwise I’m gonna miss everything!” Duncan grinned realising that he had his dad over a barrel.

“Ok, it’s a deal, I better go and have a word with Preston before we go. Wish me luck!” and with that he escorted Duncan over to where the Preston was sitting, and attempted to persuade the Minuteman with what he thought was the full MacCready charm but was more of a drunken wheedle. 

“Ok, Ok, “ Preston threw his hands up in surrender under the combined pleas of Mac and Duncan. “Ten O’clock it is then, and not a minute later!”

Duncan grinned and grabbed a Nuka from Codsworth who was passing by with a loaded tray of beverages. “Bye Dad, see you soon.” Duncan gave his dad one more kiss before watching his him weave back through the crowd to where Vin was waiting for him.

* * *

The journey to Graygarden was short and trouble free, and the two newly-weds arrived in good time despite travelling in the dark. Some of the Mr Handys were on hand to congratulate them on their nuptials and offer them food and drink. Vin and Mac gladly accepted and sat in the relative peace of the greenhouse to enjoy the modest meal. The robot residents left them alone, apart from the occasional solicitation as to whether they required more food or drink. As they walked the short distance to ascend the wooden steps to the yellow bus on the highway that was to be their accommodation. Vin used the light from his Pip-Boy to show the way, and they both trod carefully as in the cold and clear January night a frost had started to form.

The yellow bus was much plusher than Mac remembered. The Mr Handys had attemped to dress the bus for the honeymoon. Candles were lit around the interior and fresh sheets were on the bed. Folded blankets and throws were tidily arranged and outside of the bus a brazier burned brightly. 

Mac felt genuinely touched by the amount of effort the robot residents of Graygarden had taken to make the bus cosy and wondered if Codsworth had been involved. “Ahw look Vin, they’ve made it all nice for us!” He plonked himself down on the bed and patted the space next to him. “Come and sit next to me, _husband_ ” Mac fiddled with his wedding ring, holding it out and admiring the shine on it. “What a day! It all went perfectly too, I couldn’t have wished for a better one.”

Vin pushed their suitcases under the bed and settled close to MacCready. "I couldn't have wished for a better husband," Vin said, nuzzling into Mac's neck. "I love you so much, GrogMac, my Cinnamon Bun, my Hero."

The interior of the old yellow bus was surprisingly warm. Vin gently pulled at the collar of Mac's leather jacket, pulling his t-shirt collar aside to plant prickly kisses along his collarbone.

“I love you too, Huggy Bear. I’m so proud of you today, I know you didn’t want to get married again, and I know you did it for me. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it and I plan on being the best husband and friend that you could ever wish for.” He paused, “Well, that’s what I should have said at the wedding speech! Oh well, too late now, funny how you forget everything you needed to say with all those eyes on you.” Mac shuddered at the memory. He tilted his head slightly to give Vin more room to plant those delicious kisses, and sighed.

"Oh love, it was only fear of losing you that kept me from going through with this for so long."

Vin reached down to unlace his boots, then began unlacing Mac's, too. He placed both pairs of polished boots at the foot of the bed, reached into the chest nearby and pulled out a couple of soft towels, placing them on the bedside table.

"I got over it," he grinned seductively.

The day was starting to catch up with Mac and despite himself a large yawn escaped from his mouth. “Ah, sorry Vin, I think it’s the easing after all the wedding stress, so wonderful just to be able to totally relax away from everyone and everything.” He stretched luxuriantly, “It’s been such a busy couple of weeks, I’m really looking forward to the next few days.”

"One good thing about honeymooning here? We ain't gonna run out of mutfruit," Vin grinned mischievously.

“Let’s hope that they’ve got some nice big ones,” Mac observed, then chortled as he observed a fruit bowl piled high with the pick of the crop, which the Mr Handys had kindly provided.

"So, the door is locked, it's warm, we have everything we need…you lead, I'll follow. That's what you married me for, right?" Vin smirked.

* * *

Several days passed by, passionately but quietly. They read the Adventures of Atomcat issue together twice, came up with several dessert ideas involving soaking fruit in alcohol, played card games and once took a daytrip to visit Goodneighbor briefly to restock on sweet foodstuffs and to get matching tattoos. As it turned out, the new tattoo parlour "Ink the People" was run by none other than Daisy, who was delighted to see them and wanted to know all about their big day. Vin turned his artistic skills to sketching ideas for Daisy to refine, with Mac's input on what to include in the design. He then sat happily chatting away whilst she worked on his left forearm, being no stranger to the artist's needle. However, when it was MacCready's turn, Vin had to actually hold him still for Daisy to work on his right.

They returned to the 'Bus Stop' for one more night before gearing up and heading to Starlight Drive-In.

**January 15th**

The old outdoor cinema settlement was little more than a partially fenced concrete field with a workshop, a barn style bunkroom, some crops and a large water purifier.

"You know, Mac," Vin said thoughtfully as they approached, "this settlement could really be something. I mean, there's so much space here. Ya think Diamond City could do with some competition?"

“No, but something tells me you do! There’s plenty of space here, it’s true, but you’d need a lot of defence systems, it’s quite exposed on all sides. It’ll take a lot of time and investment.” Something told Mac that once Vin had gotten the idea in his head it was going to take a lot more than the pointing out of these strategic flaws to shake it.

"Damn good defensive position way up there, coupla sniper's nests to oversee construction, Drumlin Diner just across the way, far enough northeast to be left mostly alone… yeah. Starlight _City_ is going to be the Minutemen's next settlement project! Ya dig?"

“Well, as long as we don’t have to live there!” Mac was only half joking, he found the site completely unappealing.

"You might be visiting often after I get an Arcade an' comic shop in there, though," Vincent grinned.

They approached the gates, to be met by Sturges. "Hey cookies, I wanted to be here to introduce you fellas to 'Captain Cosmos'! Follow me." 

In the warehouse extension on the workshop, something large waited under a tatty tarp. Sturges whisked it away to reveal a midnight blue Lone Wanderer motorcycle. Vin ran a hand over its designer curves. "Well, hello handsome!"

“Handsome? I’d say it was more pretty than handsome!” Mac had to admit that Sturges and the settlers had done a good job at restoring the bike, “Well done Sturges, when I saw it last it was red!”

"Bit more'n a paintjob needed doin'. You don't leave a beast like this rottin' in a basement fer two centuries without needin' a serious tune up. Rode it myself, Vin, it's purrin' like a housecat now," said Sturges proudly.

"Fancy a threesome with me an Cap'n here?" Vin laughed at Mac's expression. "Oh man, this bike is peachy." He spent a long time 'speaking mechanic' with Sturges and MacCready started to get a little bored.

“Umm, if you don’t mind Vin, I wouldn’t mind dropping the luggage off at home, then I’ll come back and join you guys?” Mac secretly hoped that Vin would take Sturges out on the bike instead.

"What? No way, Mac. That'd take ages. No, the bags fit on these panniers here, see? I go there, you go here and hold onto me. Here," Vin threw Mac his flight helmet from their pile of gear. "Let's go home now."

The ride back to Sanctuary, from Vincent's point of view, was the best thrill he'd had in years. The mended route was no worse than the back roads he used to ride with old Ike and the gang before he joined the army, though Mac clung on a tad tightly. The bags on the panniers hardly affected the handling and Captain Cosmos sped through the Commonwealth toward home. The roar startled a couple of wandering raiders into revealing themselves but Vin drew his laser pistol and downed them, whilst steering one-handed round a tight bend.

To Mac the ride seemed to last an eternity. Just when he found himself becoming used to the sensation the raiders came out of nowhere and he’d cringed as Vin rode the infernal contraption one-handed whilst wielding his gun in the other. Mac felt like a sitting duck, there was no way he’d have taken one of his hands from Vin’s waist to fire his own weapon. He had never been more glad to see the statue of the Minuteman that signified the entrance to Sanctuary Hills. The journey was almost at an end and surely Vin would would have to ride through the settlement slowly?

Dan was standing watch on the roof of Red Rocket as the newlyweds zoomed by. He grinned widely and waved. Vin returned both whilst Mac continued to cling on. He'd be letting Diesel Dan ride shotgun sometime for sure.

The bike slowed as Vin very carefully rumbled the jet assisted motorbike over the rickety wooden bridge. He cruised very carefully down the street, mindful as he used to be of kids and pets and clueless Clydes. Shaun and Duncan were out the front awaiting their parents' return. As Vin brought the bike to a standstill at the front of the house, he turned to Mac. "I'm gonna have to build a garage for these wheels. Hey, how was that, hero? What a blast, huh?"

Mac could think of other words to describe the ride, but he didn’t want to hurt Vin’s feelings, as he dismounted he could barely stay upright and he clung to a fencepost to get his balance. Vin looked at him with concern, and Mac gestured to his prosthetic leg in explanation. He tried to think of something non-committal to say, but the words stuck in his throat, “Don’t ever make me get on that thing again!” That hadn’t meant to come out, and he clapped his hand over his mouth, “I mean, urm I don’t think it’s good for my leg…” But it was too late, the cat was out of the bag and Vin’s face flickered from concern to disappointment.

"You get travel sick. I shoulda known. You always go pale in a vertibird, I guess I was hoping that was just a touch o' vertigo…" Seeing Mac's expression, Vin realised that he'd have to find other candidates for pillion passengers. 

"That is _so cool_ , Dad!" Shaun wandered up, eyeing the bike. "How was it?" he asked, looking at both parents. Duncan watched Mac remove the helmet and replace his trusty old hat. 

“Well, it looks like you’ll be the one riding on it with your other dad, let’s just say it didn’t agree with me,” Mac said diplomatically.

Duncan came forward and hugged Mac’s waist.  
“Duncan!” Mac exclaimed as he gave his son a hug and whirled him through the air. “It’s so good to see you, I hope you’ve got all the gossip for us from the wedding party!”

Duncan smiled archly, “Yup, you missed out on all the fun – Preston dancing with Codsworth!” 

Shaun nodded to verify Duncan’s story, “Yeah, you guys left half an hour too soon! Never mind, we’ll tell you all about it, but I for one don’t want to hear all about Graygarden, other than that you had a great time!” He mimed ‘kissy kissy’ for Duncan’s benefit. Duncan chuckled and mimed throwing up.

“Charming!” Mac retorted, “We had a lovely time…..” the boys started to make noises and cover their ears, “And that’s all I have to say…Anything to add, Vin?”

"Don't you mean 'Anything to add, Huggy Bear?', 'Cinnamon Bun'? Don't forget we changed our names!" he replied mischievously, enjoying Shaun and Duncan's disgusted expressions

Mac began unstrapping the suitcases whilst Vin was enthusiastically talking about 'horsepower' and 'revs' to his son who was obviously enraptured.

They gathered their belongings and walked into their front room to find that Curie had decorated. There was a banner saying 'Just Married' and on the dining room table sat a nice centerpiece made from some hubflowers, and some other wasteland plants, rested neatly in a painted tin can.

“Ahw, that’s kind of Curie, another one to add to the list of thank you cards we need to write. I tell you Vin, we’re going to spend the next few months just writing thank you cards!” Mac’s jocularity hid his genuine pleasure at Curie’s gesture.

"She's a sweetheart, alright."

On the sofa was a present from Piper: a nice little quilt that had obviously been made with love. Love, with lots, and lots of holes. Vin picked it up. "Hey, a green and blue quilt! She does care. This'll be good on the bed tonight, Bun."

“Yes, I didn’t know she was the crafty type, Huggy. Still, it’s a shame she couldn’t make it to the wedding. I hope she’s doing OK.” Mac was still worried about Piper, despite Travis assuring them at the wedding that she was fine, and she just had a touch of the 'flu and had sent her apologies via him and Nick.

Duncan just rolled his eyes at the nickname.

Vin poked a finger through an obvious hole in the quilt. "Well, it's the thought that counts," he smirked.

Old Longfellow had sent along alcohol. Lots, and lots of alcohol in a care package with a few spare caps. There were also a few bottles of Vim! Captain's Blend that made MacCready gag when he tried one before Vin could stop him.

“Seems ‘Captains’ have it in for me today. First Captain Cosmos and now Captain’s Blend! Not sure which one made me feel more like chucking up!” He grabbed a beer to take away the taste. “That’s more like it.”

"Well, technically… I did the 'Captain's Dance' up at Far Harbor so I'm a Cap'n too. I don't have it in for you, though!" he wheedled, then leaned forward to whisper, "I might 'have it _in_ you for' later though…"

Mac whispered back, “Thought you’d be exhausted after the honeymoon!” The two newly weds chuckled together, and Duncan and Shaun both rolled their eyes, definitely _not_ wanting to know what the private joke was.

Ada had sent Lugger, the Provisions Sentrybot along with a shipment of rarer scrap metals, robot parts and untouched reels of wire. Vin was like a kid in a toyshop when that gift rolled up outside.

Codsworth floated up to the door immediately afterwards and asked for Mister Vincent. He reduced his volume so that Vin had to turn his head to hear the old Handy say that he was glad that Vin was able to get over his late spouse. He had fixed up an old toaster to gift them, as that was actually one of the gifts that Sir had gotten in his previous marriage. When he went back into the house clutching the gleaming, corvega blue toaster, Mac had to ask why he was smiling through tears.

Shaun came through to the living room with an armful of gifts. "Hey Dad, Pa, I think these are the last of the wedding gifts, apart from all the leftovers in the fridge," he grinned. He laid the bulky, cloth-wrapped packages on the floor.

Mac opened the first one. It was pretty obvious what lay underneath the fabric from the shape, but Mac feigned surprise as he opened the bundle, “Cait got us a gun! And such a thoughtful note - _it’s hard to be married if you’re dead._ Subtle Cait, real subtle considering both of our history! I feel like I should be offended, but I guess it’s just Cait being Cait, and it’s the thought that counts…” He examined the pistol, “It’s actually a nice little weapon, automatic, high-powered, a useful addition to the collection.”

"Ronnie Shaw is teaching that gal everything she knows about running an armory so don't color me too surprised." Vin took the pistol from Mac to examine it's movement. "Smooth! Yeah, good emergency sidearm. Are we gonna teach Dunc to shoot, soon?"

“Yeah, I think he’s old enough now, certainly older than I was when I taught myself to shoot. And he’ll be learning from the best…” Mac tried to keep his voice down, not wanting Duncan to hear, knowing that the nagging wouldn’t stop until he was handing Duncan a gun and instructing him on the use of it. Unfortunately for Mac, Duncan’s hearing was keen, especially when he was the topic of the conversation.

“Yay! Can you start teaching me tomorrow, Dad?” Duncan piped up.

“Umm, okay,” Mac didn’t have any ready excuses not to, given that he was on extended post-nuptial leave but Vin readily agreed.

Dan expressed his feelings for his brothers in the manner of gift he and Rhys gave them: some brand new limb armor, in Minutemen blue, with the stars and lightning logo on some pieces. Vin checked the sizing and found them to be perfect.

Hancock had put together a little care package, stocked full of refreshing beverages, beers and both grooms' favourite foods. Vin read the note out loud: "Hey lovers, congrats on having the courage to stick to each other. Vin, I know you've had a rough ride with the chems but here's hoping you never lose your addiction to the snarky sniper." 

“Who would have thought that Hancock was such an old romantic?” Mac reflected as he examined the package, “Well, he certainly keeps that side of himself well hidden! Still, I can certainly echo the sentiment..."

Vin continued. "MacCready, you struck lucky when you took that job. Look after that Vault boy and his _magnificent_ mustache. You two still owe me a night of drunken debauchery. Alright, maybe no debauching, you old married fellas. Still, don't leave it to long before hitting the Third Rail again. Now go cosy up, lovebirds."

Despite himself, Mac felt tears starting to well up, Hancock’s message had made him realise how lucky he really was. He had gone from an almost universally despised ex-Gunner nobody to where he was today, surrounded by generous friends, and with his family complete, and that really was all down to Vin. He snuggled into Vin, not trusting himself to speak, but hoping that gentle pressure he applied to Vin’s hand would tell him all that he needed to know.

Shaun nudged Duncan with his elbow. "C'mon MacDunc, let's go work out in the cellar and leave the old guys to it.

"HEY!" complained Vin. Your Pa hasn't even hit thirty yet! Not even twenty nine! Shit! Sorry boys," Vin flicked a cap toward Duncan for the swear-jar. "Isn't it your birthday in, like, four days?"

“Yes! You’re right! I’d forgotten about it with all the wedding planning going on. So, how are you gonna top this then hubbie?” Mac laughed at Vin’s alarmed face. “I’m joking, I’m joking! I have all I could ever want– going to bed with you every night, waking up with you each morning. The best husband in the world."

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is always fun to write with banquos_ghost (@woodspurge on Tumblr) who never fails to voice MacCready perfectly. 
> 
> For this chapter, I reached out to the Fallout Tumblr community to add a little something special to Vin and Mac's S.P.E.C.I.A L. day.  
> Thanks to @boarix for the Grognak proposal idea, to @Macspeedy 69, @bigwings and others for the wedding gift ideas, huge thanks to @synthzander for the use of her OC Vaughn's mother, Vincent's 'Aunt Libby', Olivia Zander and for re-creating Vin on a PC (near enough) so we could get pictures of our heroes holding hands, embracing and kissing. I play on PS4 without mods and they seem to maintain social distancing...  
> Finally, @the-last-huntsman (but not least!) for guest writing his Lone Wanderer OC, Gabriel Walker and Charon. It's been a blast!

**Author's Note:**

> You can view Vin & Mac's Wedding Album in these Tumblr posts:
> 
> https://theartofblossoming.tumblr.com/post/625700212085751808/vin-macs
> 
> https://theartofblossoming.tumblr.com/post/625708171200184320/vin-macs-wedding-album-part-2


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